Wage talks between Norwegian oil firms and labour unions broke down on Wednesday and will switch to state-led mediation in a bid to prevent strike action by workers, industry group Offshore Norge said.
If Norway's government-appointed mediator is unable to broker a deal when negotiations resume later this year, union members will be eligible to go on strike, disrupting output from western Europe's largest oil and gas producer.
Unions Styrke, Safe and Lederne failed to reach an agreement with the companies, Offshore Norge said.
While no date has yet been set, oil companies have said they expect mediation to take place in June.
Norway produces around 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, almost equally divided between oil and natural gas, and any production cuts could impact markets at a time when Middle East output is also severely curtailed.
The unions had been negotiating since Tuesday with Offshore Norway, which represents petroleum companies, in a bid to agree an offshore wage settlement for about 8,000 workers.
The talks cover wages, benefits and working conditions for staff employed by oil firms, including Equinor, Aker BP, ConocoPhillips and Vaar Energi.
(Reuters - Reporting by Oslo newsroom, writing by Jesus Calero, editing by Terje Solsvik)
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