Norwegian oil industry employees end their strike
Oil companies and unions have reached a final agreement.
A strike that shut down 8 percent of Norwegian oil and gas production - but threatened to cut even more - will end after successful mediation talks, according to the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association. Six offshore fields were closed on Monday, and seven more should follow in the coming days, with the outage expected to grow to 966,000 Boe / day by October 14, the industry said. The agreement also prevents the closure of Norway's largest oil field, Equinors (EQNR + 1.3%) 460K bbl / day Johan Sverdrup plant. Crude oil futures fell on the news, with WTI (CL1: COM) rising -1.4% to $ 40.60 / bbl and Brent -1.2% to $ 42.81 / bbl; previously, both benchmarks had risen from optimism about the potential for an agreement on a US stimulus package.