Brazil’s semi-national oil firm Petrobras is facing two strikes this week, one started on 00:01 last Monday and the other starts tomorrow, the 17th. But strong contingency plans and worker co-operation have meant output dipped to only 98% on Monday and was back to full capacity by Tuesday, where it is expected to remain.
Monday morning’s five-day strike affected the 42-rig Campos basin, the source of 80% of Brazil’s oil output. Members of the Sindipetro-NF union walked off 33 rigs, demanding that workers on a 14 day off-shore shift get paid for the 15th day, on which they work as normal in the morning and fly home, often several thousand kilometres away, in the evening.
Presidential aide LuizDulci told members of the press that the strike could end before the fifth day, with a fresh round of negotiations set to take place today. In the run up to the strike, Petrobras president Sergio Gabrielli announced a contingency plan to maintain output, which has held up well and kept supply constant.
The contingency workers will have extended stress placed upon them as the National Oil Workers Federation voted on Tuesday to begin a 48-hour strike on Thursday without affecting production. The NOWF states that Petrobras’ profit has doubled since 2002 but wokers wages haven’t suitably increased. It demands that 25% of shareholder dividends be paid to workers, but Petrobras is only offering 12.5%.
The strikes remind Oil Energy Money of the Ineos workers’ Grangemouth strikesin the North Sea in May, when workers protested decreasing pension plans in the face of increasing company profits. But while a private company in the North Sea is less affected by public opinion, a semi-state run Petrobras must offer greater concessions to its workers or face a national backlash.
Petrobras recently discovered 150m barrels of recoverable oil in the Espirito Santo Basin, 60km from the city of Vitoria. The discovery could be exploited in a short period of time and be cost effective due to its proximity to the Golfinho field.
It is clear that Petrobras must negotiate with its workers, who have so far been co-operative, announcing plans a week in advance and continuing negotiations without disrupting supply. It may be too soon to predict, but expect a favourable outcome for union members.
If nothing else, the affair has led to a great statement by Gabrielli, who, after the oil price rose in response to the strikes being announced, told Valor newspaper that “Daily variations in oil (prices) don’t mean very much. More than anything, it’s a creation of unreasonable expectations than any results to do with reality.”
