Key facts
- North Sea oil workers represented by the Unite union plan to strike over pay.
- The strike could involve over 160 Apache offshore workers.
- Action could affect the Forties and Beryl oilfields and the Charlie platform.
- The Forties pipeline system, handling nearly a third of UK oil and gas, could be impacted.
- Apache reported $1.4 billion in after-tax profits and $9.2 billion in revenues last year.
- Apache offered a 4% pay increase, which the union deems insufficient.
A potential strike by over 160 North Sea oil workers employed by Apache could severely disrupt UK fuel supplies, according to the Unite union. The union stated that workers have no choice but to strike after pay talks broke down, citing an unacceptable pay offer that amounts to a real-terms pay cut for many employees, despite Apache reporting substantial profits.
Unite also indicated that Apache had set deadlines for back pay agreements and suggested payments could be withheld, potentially leaving workers thousands of pounds out of pocket. Apache, however, stated it has engaged constructively and offered a 4% pay increase, noting that its employees are already among the highest earners in the UK and work an average of 153 days a year offshore.
The strike action, which could begin later this month, involves electrical experts, production technicians, and radio operators. It would affect the Forties and Beryl oilfields and could lead to the shutdown of the critical Charlie platform. This could, in turn, bring the entire Forties pipeline system, which handles nearly a third of the UK's oil and gas, to a halt, potentially impacting other North Sea operators.
Unite's general secretary, Sharon Graham, stated, "We will not tolerate unacceptable pay offers." Industrial officer Stevie Davies added that any disruption to Apache's platforms "would have a direct hit on the Forties pipeline and potentially severely affect the UK's fuel supplies."
Apache Corporation, the parent company, reported $1.4 billion in after-tax profits and $9.2 billion in revenues last year. The company maintained that its final offer was fair and in line with that given to non-unionized employees. Apache also stated it has contingency plans in place and does not anticipate the strike affecting other producers' operations through the Forties pipeline system, expecting any reduction in pipeline pressure to be similar to routine maintenance outages.
Meanwhile, British motorists are already grappling with record diesel prices, which have climbed to £2 a liter, exacerbated by global supply disruptions linked to the US-Israel war on Iran. G7 nations are also planning to release emergency oil stockpiles.