Venezuelan Detains More than 30 PDVSA Workers
At least 38 workers from Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela’s, including the president of maritime subsidiary PDV Marina, were detained on accusations of trafficking fuel, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on Saturday, describing the accusations as "treason."The move comes just days after other state officials were detained and amid a shakeup at PDVSA after President Nicolas Maduro last month named a committee to restructure the OPEC nation’s oil industry…
US Oil Workers Leaving Iraq After Air Strike
Dozens of U.S. citizens working for foreign oil companies in the southern Iraqi oil city of Basra were leaving the country on Friday, the Oil Ministry said, after a U.S. air strike killed a top Iranian commander in Iraq.The U.S. embassy in Baghdad urged all its citizens to leave Iraq immediately, hours after the U.S. killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.Iraqi officials said the evacuation would not affect operations…
Strike Would Cut Norway's Output 11%/Day
Norway's oil and gas output could be cut by about 440,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day, or about 11% of total production, if workers go on strike from June 4, industry association Norwegian Oil and Gas (NOG) said on Monday.A government-appointed mediator is leading negotiations between oil companies and employees represented by the Lederne union in a bid to avert a strike.Altogether nine fields would have to shut in the event of industrial action…
Norway Oil Workers Threaten Strike
Around 200 Norwegian offshore oil and gas workers plan to go on strike on June 4 unless pay negotiations lead to a deal with employers, the Lederne labour union said on Wednesday.A strike would hit seven offshore fields and at least two of those would have to shut production, cutting output by a combined 102,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), industry group Norwegian Oil and Gas (NOG) told Reuters.While Neptune Energy's Gjøa and Okea's Draugen fields would shut in the initial phase of
Foreign Oil Workers Kidnapped in Nigeria
Gunman kidnapped two foreign workers from an oil rig in Nigeria's Delta region on Saturday, the military said - the second abduction there in less than a week.The attackers raided the rig owned by Niger Delta Petroleum Resources at around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT), the spokesman for the area's military operations, Major Ibrahim Abubakar, said.Troops were searching surrounding swamps, he added.The Niger Delta produces the bulk of Nigeria's crude.
Oil Rises 2 Percent
Oil rose nearly 2 percent on Tuesday as attention centered on geopolitical factors tightening supplies that are leading to falling exports from Venezuela and declining U.S. inventories.Despite concerns about weaker demand due to an economic slowdown, oil prices have risen more than 25 percent this year, supported by supply curbs by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus allies, and losses due to U.S.
A 'Chicago Boy' Takes the Reins at Petrobras
Depending on who you ask, Roberto Castello Branco, the new chief executive of Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA, will either save the indebted oil major - or strip it to the bone.Tapped by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who took power on Tuesday, Castello Branco had said in a June newspaper column he thought Petrobras - as the company is known - should be privatized, a hardcore proposal even in…
Venezuela Sets New Wages for Oil Workers
Venezuela on Wednesday increased wages for workers at state energy company PDVSA after employees staged small protests to decry meager salaries amid the OPEC nation's economic meltdown.Socialist President Nicolas Maduro in August unexpectedly ordered a 60-fold increase in the minimum wage to compensate for around 500,000 percent annual inflation and a 96 percent devaluation of the bolivar currency.But workers at PDVSA said their wages had not been bumped up accordingly…
Total Oil Workers in N. Sea Accept Pay Offer, Cancel Future Strikes
* The UK's largest union Unite the Union said that offshore oil workers at three of Total's North Sea platforms had accepted a pay offer from the company* The workers have called off future strikes, a union statement said* The workers went on a series of 12 and 24-hour strikes in July and August, stopping production at the Alwyn, Dunbar and Elgin platforms* At issue was a rota shift change to three weeks on the platform versus two weeks previously* The workers accepted a mean basic headline pay
Talks Between Total, North Sea Oil Workers Collapse, Strikes to Go Ahead
Talks between French oil refiner Total and workers on three of its North Sea oil and gas platforms broke down on Thursday, meaning that a series of planned strikes over working rotas will go ahead, UK union Unite said in a statement."The talks with Total have broken down today (regarding) the position on the three platforms," Unite said."As a result, the scheduled industrial action which we have previously released remains in place.
New Strike Ballot for Mariner Oil Platform Workers after Aker Offer
Unite the Union will ballot its members among offshore oil workers on Equinor's British North Sea Mariner platform again after Aker Solutions offered a new pay deal, Unite the Union said on Monday.A previous vote had been in favor of a strike which would involve about 200 workers and would likely take place between August and October. The Mariner field is due to start production in the second half…
UK Union to Ballot 2,500 Offshore Oil Workers for Strike
Offshore oil services workers will be balloted for potential strike action after they rejected a pay increase offer by the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA), Britain's union Unite said on Friday.Unite said it has 2,500 members covered by the OCA and the decision would affect 106 North Sea oil platforms.Reporting By Julia Payne
Oil Prices Set for Weekly Drop as Trade Worries Weigh
Oil prices came under pressure on Friday from U.S.-China trade tensions and were on course for a third straight week of falls.Brent crude was up 57 cents at $73.15 a barrel by 1344 GMT. The expiring U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for August delivery was up 28 cents at $69.74 a barrel, while the more traded September contract fell 13 cents to $68.11.U.S. President Donald Trump said in a CNBC…
Norway Oil Workers, Employers Reach Deal to End Strike
Norwegian drilling rigs workers will end their industrial action after the union representing 1,600 striking employees reached a deal with the group acting for their employers, the parties said on Thursday.The strike began on July 10 after the Safe union and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association could not come to an agreement over wages and pension conditions. The industrial action led to the shutdown of one Shell-operated field."The strike is over ...
No Contact Yet Between Parties in Norway Oil Strike
A Norwegian union representing striking oil workers and employers' representatives were not talking to each other as of Thursday, days before a possible escalation of the industrial action.Hundreds of workers on Norwegian offshore oil and gas rigs went on strike on Tuesday after rejecting a proposed wage deal, leading to the shutdown of one Shell-operated field and helping send Brent crude prices higher."We haven't been contacted by the shipowners yet.
Hundreds of Oil Workers Strike in Norway
Hundreds of workers on Norwegian offshore oil and gas rigs went on strike on Tuesday after rejecting a proposed wage deal, leading to the shutdown of one Shell-operated field and helping send Brent crude prices higher.One union said hundreds more workers would join the strike on Sunday if an agreement over union demands for a wage increase and pension rights was not reached.Royal Dutch Shell said that due to the strike it was temporarily closing production at its Knarr field…
Hundreds of Norway Oil Workers Go On Strike
Hundreds of workers on Norwegian offshore oil and gas rigs went on strike on Tuesday after rejecting a proposed wage deal, leading to the shutdown of one Shell-operated field and helping send Brent crude prices higher.One union said hundreds more workers would join the strike on Sunday if an agreement over union demands for a wage increase and pension rights was not reached.Royal Dutch Shell said that due to the strike it was temporarily closing production at its Knarr field…
As Mexico Oil Sector Sputters, Crime and Violence Rattle Industry Towns
Until recently, Edgar Barrera enjoyed a life many Mexicans could only hope for. In a few short years, the 36-year-old bookkeeper rose from handyman to white-collar worker at what seemed to be one of the most stable companies in Latin America: state-owned oil firm Pemex. Thanks to Pemex, Barrera met his wife, vacationed on the Mayan Riviera and envisaged a rewarding career without leaving his hometown in Tabasco…
Norway Oil Workers Threaten to Strike
Some 2,250 workers on Norwegian offshore oil drilling rigs and in drilling and catering services on oil producing platforms could go on strike this summer after rejecting a proposed wage deal, the Safe labor union said on Thursday.Industri Energi, the largest labor union representing drilling workers, last month agreed to a deal, while the smaller Safe said it would ask its members to vote on the offer made by the Norwegian Shipowners' Association.A strike could hit oil companies' exploration ef
Oil Workers Strike at Petrobras
The FUP oil workers union in Brazil said on Wednesday that workers joined the call for a nationwide strike on at least 20 oil rigs in lucrative Campos basin, along with several other areas around the country.The 72-hour strike was called to protest the fuel pricing policies of Petroleo Brasileiro SA and to demand the resignation of chief executive Pedro Parente. The state-led firm said in a statement that there were no production losses so far.
