Total is set to consult with staff over a potential move to an equal time rota.
The decision to communicate with staff regarding a change to a three on, three off shift pattern comes after oil giant Shell confirmed it would be making the move earlier this week.
Companies have been considering whether to adopt the shift pattern as they look to make cost savings following the decline in oil price.
Offshore oil workers need to take a “reality check” and understand that current shifts which amount to working 20 weeks a year are no longer sustainable, according to one of the North Sea’s biggest employers.
Unions have complained that changes in shift patterns from the current two weeks offshore followed by three weeks of leave to three on, three off will lead to longer hours and compromise safety.
But Dave Stewart, managing director of Wood Group UK which employs 12,000 workers including 5,000 offshore, said the industry has been working “too inefficiently for too long”.
