UPDATE 1-Shell oil workers in Gabon begin “unlimited” strike on Thursday

(Adds background, quote from union)

LIBREVILLE, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell workers in Gabon began on Thursday an “unlimited” strike at all the company’s operations in the Central African OPEC member country, the workers’ union wrote in a letter to employees.

Shell is trying to sell its Gabon assets, which one source estimated could be worth $700 million, leaving workers worried about layoffs or being moved to new locations, the union said.

The national union of petroleum employees (ONEP) said the strike “will cover all of Shell Gabon’s operations (Libreville, Port-Gentil, Gamba Rabi, Koula and Toucan).”

There was no immediate response from Shell, and it was not clear if oil production was impacted.

The union demanded in December that all Shell Gabon employees be transferred to whichever company takes on Shell’s assets, and that no redundancies are made for economic reasons within five years of the deal.

Gabon is Africa’s fourth largest oil producer with an output of around 220,000 barrels per day dominated by international oil majors Total and Shell.

(Reporting by Wilfried Obangome; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Joe Bavier and Mark Potter)

Article Courtesy of CNBC