Norway’s offshore oil sector just got a lot quieter. Offshore Norway, the employers’ association representing the country’s oil services industry, initiated a lockout on June 27 that has sidelined approximately 1,000 members of the SAFE union, escalating a labor conflict that was already disrupting drilling operations across the Norwegian continental shelf.
The lockout follows a strike that began around June 15, when several hundred SAFE union members walked off the job demanding better wages. That initial action halted work on at least two rigs and several vessels. The employers’ response: lock out roughly 1,000 of the union’s approximately 1,770 members, effectively grinding a significant chunk of Norway’s offshore service operations to a halt.
What’s at stake for oil production
Early industry estimates peg the potential production loss at up to 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. For context, Norway typically produces around 2 million barrels per day, making it one of Western Europe’s largest oil producers.
The list of affected companies reads like a who’s who of global oilfield services. SLB, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Subsea 7, DOF Subsea, Weatherford, and DeepOcean all have operations caught up in the dispute.
