A four-month oil workers strike on Norwegian North Sea oil rigs appeared to be winding down Tuesday after government intervention, reports said. Oil workers that were threatened by a lockout that threatened to halt Norwegian oil and gas production announced Tuesday they would go back to work and called off their labour action. The oil workers' union OFS, which organizes some 20 per cent of employees on the rigs, has demanded job guarantees to prevent shipowners putting Norwegian oil jobs under a flag of convenience. The strike only marginally affected Norway's daily production of some 3 million barrels of oil. But the lockout and looming threat of a major production stop changed events. Citing weeks of unsuccessful talks, the Norwegian Shipowners' Association announced a lockout as of November 9. The lockout threat pushed international oil prices to new highs Monday but prices steadied when Labour Minister Dagfinn Hoybraten announced plans for "compulsory mediation". Shortly after Hoybraten's statement the employers' withdrew the lockout. The government said a production stop would have affected Norway's reputation as a reliable oil supplier. Earlier this year the government ordered compulsory mediation to end another strike in the key oil sector. Norway is the world's third largest oil exporter.
