A work stoppage at the Statoil-operated Mongstad refinery near Bergen from midnight on Monday 9 September will have big consequences for the group’s operations.
This escalation of strike action by the Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) involves 45 members of its affiliated Joint Association of Private Employees (Prifo).
Working in the offsite facilities and the associated port, they are being called out after the failure of pay talks between the YS and the Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF).
“We greatly regret that we’re being affected by this dispute after reaching agreement with the YS in our own pay negotiations this year,” says Statoil chief negotiator Jostein Gaasemyr.
Strike action by a limited number of YS members at Mongstad will have major consequences for operations. Mr Gaasemyr emphasises that Statoil has an obligation to limit the damage caused by a labour dispute of this kind.
Immediately after the strike begins, vessel traffic to and from the Port of Mongstad will virtually cease.
Refinery output is also set to be reduced, and eventually come to a halt as the storage tanks fill up.
Shuttle tankers delivering crude oil from Norwegian offshore fields will be rerouted if necessary.
The Troll B and C oil platforms operated in the North Sea by Norsk Hydro can continue to deliver crude to Mongstad by pipeline until the storage facilities are full.
A strike at Mongstad will not create immediate problems for fuel and heating oil deliveries in Norway.