The Norwegian Oil and Gas Company has warned that an extended strike by Norwegian oil and gas workers could lead to a drop in gas exports of more than 50 percent.
In a statement, the company said: “Approximately 60 percent of gas exports from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) would be affected if the strike was intensified as of Saturday 9 July. This means a loss of income of NOK 1.8 billion per day. Oil production Daily is 341,000 barrels, and gas exports of 1,117 thousand barrels per day are lost, which is equivalent to about 56 percent of the total gas exports from the Norwegian continental shelf.
As stated by Hildegon Blindheim, CEO of the Norwegian oil and gas company, in an interview with VG, Norway provides a quarter of Europe’s energy consumption.
“Europe is totally dependent on us as a nation at a time when Russian supply cuts have led to a very difficult natural gas market. A strike of this scale is causing huge problems for countries that are completely dependent on replenishing their natural gas reserves before the fall and winter,” he said.
According to VG, this led to the closure of the Gordon, Osberg-Sir and Osberg-Ost oil fields.
Reuters reported, citing a statement by union leader Lidern, that oil and gas workers in Norway went on strike last night, demanding higher wages.
And soon, the Norwegian oil and gas group Equinor announced that due to the strikes, production was suspended in three fields with a total production of about 89,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, of which 27.5 thousand are natural gas. On Wednesday, the company plans to close three more fields, which produce 264,000 oil equivalents of natural gas per day.