Talks were due to have taken place on Monday in the Nigerian capital Abuja but were held up as some union leaders missed their flight from the commercial capital Lagos, sources close to the discussions said.

The strike and attacks by Niger Delta rebels have slashed oil production in the world's eighth largest exporter by half, and pushed oil to record levels around $120 a barrel on Monday.

"There was no progress yesterday. We had some logistical problems," said Lumumba Okugbawa, the deputy secretary-general of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). "We hope to break the deadlock today."

A Nigerian state oil company spokesman said mediators had appealed to union leaders on Monday to restart production during the talks as a sign of good faith, but they had refused.

Exxon confirmed on Tuesday that most of its oil production in Nigeria remained shut because of the strike.

"The situation is still the same. It's still shut in," Adeyemi Fakayejo, an Exxon Mobil public affairs advisor in Nigeria said.

Source: Reuters