Norway Oil Workers’ Strike Continues, Aker BP Warns Of Production Hit

A four-day oil workers’ strike in Norway that may escalate on July 16 would have to last a month to impact Aker BP’s production from the Valhall field in the North Sea, the Norwegian energy company said.

Hundreds of workers on Norwegian offshore oil and gas rigs went on strike July 10 after rejecting a proposed wage deal, closing Shell’s Knarr Field, which produces 23,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Four days in and the conflicting parties were still not talking to each other, a union official and a mediator told Reuters on July 13.

Aker BP Chief Executive Karl Johnny Hersvik said activity at the Valhall IP water injection and Valhall DP drilling platforms would stop if the strike escalated.

“If the strike is prolonged it will have later in the year impact on when wells are back in production … If that is going to happen it means the strike has to be quite long,” he said during the firm’s second-quarter results presentation.