OSLO, June 12 ― Norwegian oil workers and their employers have extended wage negotiations past a midnight deadline in a bid to avert a strike that could cut the country’s crude production, industry representatives said on Sunday.

Some 845 workers out of roughly 7,500 employees on offshore platforms plan to strike if the annual pay negotiations fail, trade unions Industri Energi, Safe and Lederne have said.

The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG), which negotiates on behalf of oil firms, has said a strike "could affect” output but declined to say by how much.

Unions leaders have said that while oil production would likely be hit by any strike action, workers would initially seek to protect gas output due to the tight supply and high prices in Europe.

The deadline for the talks had originally been set to midnight on Saturday (2200 GMT). ― Reuters