UK workers’ strike threat pays off: 130-strong North Sea crew endorses pay boost with CNOOC

September 18, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

With the wage growth mission spreading its wings across North Sea platforms, offshore workers have increasingly turned to potential industrial action pursuits to get better pay deals in the UK’s offshore energy sector, as illustrated by the latest wage win secured by workers employed on assets operated by CNOOC Petroleum Europe (CNOOC), a European affiliate of CNOOC, a Chinese state-owned oil and gas giant.

Buzzard oil and gas field in the UK North Sea; Source: CNOOC Petroleum Europe

Britain’s Unite the union has delivered another wage victory in the UK, as around 130 workers have backed a pay deal with CNOOC, enabling basic pay increase of 5.5%, with further improvements to allowances worth an additional 7%. Strike action was previously supported after workers rejected several offers.

Sharon Graham, Unite’s General Secretary, underlined: “Unite has successfully delivered its latest wage win for offshore workers, this time for those employed by CNOOC. It’s a significant increase which only came about due to our members being prepared to take strike action to get a better deal.”

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The workers’ union explains that the CNOOC overall package is equivalent to an uplift, amounting to £8,000 (around $10,838) for members working on the Buzzard, Scott, and Golden Eagle platforms, depending on their roles, spanning control room operators, supervisors, electricians, technicians, and mechanics.

The CNOOC-operated Buzzard is described as one of the UK’s highest-producing fields, located around 100 kilometers northeast of Aberdeen, with first oil achieved in 2007. While the Golden Eagle platform, situated about 111 kilometers northeast of Aberdeen, produced its first oil in 2014, the Scott asset, approximately 185 kilometers northeast of Aberdeen, came online in 1993.

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John Boland, Unite’s Industrial Officer, emphasized: “Unite is pleased to secure a good pay deal for our CNOOC membership. We are putting millions of pounds directly into the pockets of highly-skilled workers in the oil and gas industry. Unite does what it says on the tin: we deliver better jobs, pay and conditions for offshore workers.”

Unite highlights that the CNOOC wage victory adds to the wave of negotiated pay deals with offshore operators, including Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Neo Next (Repsol), which have put over £2 million (about $2.71 million) directly into the pockets of offshore workers.