The Sleipner field, a North Sea hub for British fossil fuels, was on the verge of shutting down at the weekend due to a dispute over pay. Norwegian oil and gas workers had already shut down three fields by Monday, with three more expected to follow on Tuesday before the government intervened.
If the striking workers succeeded in shutting down the three additional fields, it would affect about 13 percent of Norway’s total gas exports.
An additional three fields, including Sleipner, had to be closed on Saturday.
This means UK gas supplies are unlikely to be cut on Saturday as a result,
Labor Minister Marte Mjoes Persen told Reuters that Oslo had used its powers to intervene and the strike would have had “serious consequences”.
She said: “Norway plays a vital role in the supply of gas to Europe and the planned escalation [of the strike] would have serious consequences for Great Britain, Germany and other nations.
“When the conflict can have such great social consequences for the whole of Europe, I have no choice but to intervene in the conflict.
“It is unjustified that gas production should stop to such an extent.
Ledern union leader Audun Ingwartsen told Reuters the strike was over.
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Mr Hansen added that the closure of Sleipner would also affect supplies to Belgium.
Josef Pospisil, utilities specialist at Fitch Ratings, said a short-term drop in supply would not have a major impact on the UK because of the large volumes it receives from other countries, shipped from around the world.
Norway is the UK’s largest supplier of gas, providing 32 billion cubic meters (bcm) of the 76bcm consumed last year.
On Tuesday evening, around 30 per cent of UK gas was delivered through the Easington terminal.
The dispute will now move to what the Norwegian government has called a “compulsory wage council”.
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