Norway halts oil and gas strike

Norway’s government intervened for the second time in four years to end a labour strike that threatened to halt all oil and gas production from the world’s third-largest crude exporter.

The government dictated a settlement that both unions and employers must accept, ending the weeklong oil-worker strike over pensions immediately.

The decision comes after employers including Statoil and Exxon Mobil threatened to lock out 2,450 workers as of Monday at midnight, a move that would have brought the nation’s oil and gas activities to a standstill.