Strike at CNR's Ivory Coast oil and gas fields extended

Workers have extended a strike indefinitely at Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ)' (CNR) Baobab and Espoir oil and gas fields in Ivory Coast, the SISPOO oil workers union said on Saturday.

A 72-hour strike was called early on Wednesday over the firing of workers and was extended on Friday after the parties failed to reach an agreement.

"As no solution is in sight, we hereby announce the extension of the strike until the conflict is resolved," SISPOO said in a letter to CNR on Friday.

The union told Reuters on Wednesday that no gas was coming from any of CNR's platforms, and that output from those sites represented about 30 percent of Ivorian oil and gas production.

CNR could not be immediately reached for comment on Saturday.

The company produces about 70 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in Ivory Coast, which is critical for supplying the West African nation's gas-fired power plants.

It also pumps between 40,000 and 45,000 barrels of crude oil per day, mainly for export.

(Reporting by Joe Bavier; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Louise Ireland