Norway’s oil and gas production could eventually be affected by a panned strike by union workers.  This comes as mediation kicks off to resolve the matter.

According to reports, Norway’s unions, which includes 35,000 workers, plans to walk off the job if mediation is unsuccessful.  Mediation began recently between the country’s two main unions and employer organization to discuss pensions and wages for approximately 250,000 private sector employees.

Norway is Western Europe’s biggest oil producer.

At the moment, petroleum production would not come to a halt, but a strike would have an effect on suppliers.  A strike would also affect fertilizer and metal production, ship yards, bus transport, logistics, electricians, hair dressers, and beer and ice cream production.

Last month unsupervised talks came to a halt, which was when mediation efforts were launched.  This is one of the few times negotiations were not held industry by industry and instead, collective bargaining efforts included a quarter of a million people in the private sector.

Initially the strike would just be a portion of the workers affected, but could grow as time passes. 

The last time there was a Norwegian oil workers’ strike was in 2012.  At that time, the government finally intervened and ended the 16 day strike. 

Norway is responsible for nearly 2 million barrels of oil and other liquids every day and more than 10 billion cubic meters of gas per month, making it the biggest supplier in the United Kingdom and second largest exporter behind Russia to the European Union.