(Updates with numbers from second union, detail)
By Nerijus Adomaitis
OSLO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Some 281 Norwegian offshore oil
workers plan to go on strike from Sept. 30 if annual pay
negotiations with employers fail, trade unions Safe and Industri
Energi said on Wednesday.
The smaller Lederne union has said it too could join a
strike if talks do not yield a deal, but has not yet announced
how many of its members would be affected in the first round.
Initially, 113 of Safe's members would strike, including 88
at Equinor's Johan Sverdrup field, the largest oil
producing field in western Europe, and 25 at ConocoPhillips's
Ekofisk Lima platform, the union told Reuters.
Industri Energi meanwhile said 168 of its members would
strike, including 129 working at the Equinor-operated Snorre,
Kvitebjoern, Aasta Hansteen and Kristin fields.
The remaining 39 are service workers employed by ESS at Aker
BP's Ula and ConocoPhillips's Eldfisk Bravo,
Industri Energi said.
Norway exports more than four million barrels of oil per
day, half in the form of crude and other liquids and half from
natural gas, making it a major global energy supplier.
Norwegian oil firms and unions failed to reach agreement
during preliminary bargaining on Sept. 7-8, and will be subject
to mandatory state-led mediation on Sept. 28-29 in a bid to
prevent a strike.
It was not immediately clear how much of the country's
output could be cut. Past disputes have typically led to a
reduction in overall output of around 10%, with a primary focus
on oil rather than gas.
The unions are negotiating on behalf of a combined 7,300
workers, while the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG)
represents oil firms.
The NOG, which speaks for the industry during wage
negotiations, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request
for comment.
If Norway's state-appointed mediator is unable to broker a
deal, union members will be eligible to go on strike and the
dispute could subsequently be escalated.
Unions have not publicly released details of their demands.
In 2018, a 10-day strike among 1,600 workers led to the
shutdown of a field operated by Shell and affected
output from several others.
In 2012, the government invoked emergency powers to end a
conflict after 16 days when employers threatened a lockout of
workers that would have shut down all output of oil and gas.
(Writing by Terje Solsvik. Editing by Jane Merriman, Elaine
Hardcastle and Mark Heinrich)
