French oil strike 'nearing end'

The strike has prevented more than 63 ships entering the port

A 17-day strike by French port workers that is threatening refinery shut downs in France, Switzerland and Germany may soon be resolved, reports suggest.

Dockers in Marseille walked out on 14 March in protest at plans to take on workers at the site from Gaz de France.

GDF said it wanted to employ only its own staff for safety reasons.

Union officials, the port authorities and GDF have now reached a draft deal which will be put to the strikers on Saturday, reports say.

The unions has turned down two previous offers from GDF.

'Possible deal'

As a result of the walkout 63 ships, including 39 oil tankers, have been blocked from the port, a development which could lead to almost half of France's refineries being closed by next Wednesday, France's petroleum industry body UFIP said.

With 64.2 million tonnes of oil and gas moving through Fos-Lavera, the site is the world's third biggest port for oil products.

The site handles about 31% of the total crude oil imported into France, and feeds six refineries in the country.

The blockade is estimated to have cost refiners more than 25m euros so far, the UFIP added.