Norway oil workers agree wage deal, averting strike

OSLO (Reuters) -Norwegian oil firms agreed a new wage deal with workers on Wednesday, industry and labour union officials said, averting the risk of strike action later this year that could have hit supply from Europe's largest source of natural gas.

Unions Lederne, Safe and IE&FLT all came to an agreement with the companies, industry group Offshore Norway said.

The new contract raises annual pay for oil and gas workers by 44,000 Norwegian crowns ($4,021), in addition to some adjustments to overtime pay, the unions said.

"We are pleased to have achieved our demand for a solid financial settlement for offshore workers," IE&FLT deputy chief Lill-Heidi Bakkerud said in a statement.

If the talks had failed, it would have triggered mandatory mediation and significantly raised the risk of strike action.

In 2020, an oil industry strike cut Norway's output by around 330,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), or 8% of the country's overall production.

Norway produces around 4 million boepd, almost equally divided between oil and gas. The Nordic country became Europe's top gas supplier after Russia cut its deliveries amid the war in Ukraine.

In 2022, the Norwegian government invoked emergency powers to force an end to a strike just hours after it began, arguing that disrupting gas supplies to Europe at a time of war in Europe could have had a dramatic impact on markets.

Offshore Norway said the overall wage deal was in line with agreements reached by employers in other industries.

The agreements cover 7,300 workers at more than a dozen oil companies and suppliers, including Equinor, ConocoPhillips, Aker BP and Vaar Energi.

Separate negotiations covering drilling workers, onshore oil and gas terminals and offshore service companies are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

($1 = 10.9426 Norwegian crowns)

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Sonali Paul)