Talks have begun between unions and energy companies in Norway in a bid to avert strike action over a pay dispute.
The move is in a bid to avoid action which could see output from Europe’s largest oil producer cut by up to 6%.
Unions are seeking pay increases in line with other industries while producers want workers to refrain from seeking such increases.
If strike action takes place, oil and gas production at five offshore fields could be shut from July 2nd.
The five fields are ExxonMobil’s Balder, Ringhorne and Jotun, Engie’s Gjoea and Wintershall’s Vega.
Industri Energi union leader Leif Sande said in a statement:”The main point of contention is that employers won’t accept a 2.4 percent framework. The distance between us is almost as wide as the Mediterranean Sea,” Hilde-Marit Rysst, head of the Safe labour union, told Reuters at the start of the talks. “I think we’ll be able to resolve this though, as both sides want a solution.”