OSLO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Workers will decide on Monday
whether to strike this week at Norway's largest oil loading
terminal, action that could disrupt production at fields
responsible for a third of the country's crude output and more
than 40% of natural gas exports.
Norway, western Europe's largest oil and gas producer, pumps
about 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, while gas
production amounts to 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per
day (boed).
Operator Equinor said on Friday a potential strike
over pay by the Safe union would reduce Mongstad's storage and
harbour capacity, forcing a shutdown of offshore oilfields which
pipe crude to the terminal.
This could affect oil and gas output from seven fields,
which produced 680,000 bpd of crude and gas output corresponding
to about 850,000 boed in November, according to data from the
Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).
State-controlled Equinor said the action could disrupt
production at the major Johan Sverdrup and Troll fields, as well
from five smaller fields, namely Kvitebjoern, Visund, Byrding,
Fram and Valemon.
The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG) will negotiate
with workers on behalf of Equinor and its partners.
"We hope to find a solution through mediation," NOG chief
negotiator Elisabeth Bratteboe Fenne said in a statement.
Although only a dozen workers are due to strike initially,
they are key to loading vessels and handling the ships' arrivals
and departures at the busy Mongstad terminal.
In case of a protracted conflict, a strike could spread to
other onshore facilities, with as many as 800 oil and gas
workers potentially involved, Safe has said.
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by
Edmund Blair)
