The Industri Energi, Safe and Lederne unions had been negotiating since Monday with the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG), which represents oil companies, in a bid to agree a new offshore wage settlement.

The talks cover wages and working conditions for some 7,000 workers employed by oil firms, such as Equinor, with Industri Energi representing more than 4,000 workers.

No date has been set for the mediation, which is expected to take place within the next several weeks or months.

If Norway's state-appointed mediator is unable to broker a deal, the members of the unions will be eligible to go on strike, potentially disrupting output from western Europe's largest oil and gas producer.

The wage talks, which normally take place in the April-June quarter, were postponed this year due to the COVID-19 situation.

Separate negotiations covering workers at floating rigs and offshore service companies are expected to take place later in September.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik)