A series of accidents on Petrobras offshore oil platforms and fallout from the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have led Brazil's oil workers to step up demands for better safety standards on offshore platforms.
"In seven rounds of negotiations, the company ignored workers demands ... principally with respect to the issue of security," the FUP oil workers umbrella union said.
It noted the strike would go on "for an undetermined amount of time", according to Reuters.
A full-blown work stoppage could force Petrobras to boost crude imports to keep refineries running and meet booming fuel demand in Brazil, the world's seventh-largest economy.
It could also trim Petrobras' exports, putting upward pressure on crude oil prices that have rallied in recent weeks on hopes of a resolution to the euro zone crisis.
But the union's threat may not lead to a strike, and if it does action may be limited. Brazilian labour law places restrictions on strike action that could halt operations at economically essential or potentially dangerous installations, a category that applies to much of the Rio de Janeiro-based company's operations.
Petrobras also faces pressure from shareholders to avoid work stoppages that could reduce cash flow as it carries out a $225 billion five-year expansion plan, the world's largest corporate spending programme.
In 2008, union leaders called off a planned strike after Petrobras offered to increase profit sharing with workers.
The FUP said on Monday it is seeking a salary increase equal to inflation plus 10% and "a security policy that defends life".
Petrobras said in an emailed response that it had offered a 9% salary increase and a bonus of 90% of one month's salary, Reuters reported.
Brazilian inflation is running at an annual rate of about 7%.
"The company made offers on several items related to the health and retirement plans of the employees, (and) safety conditions, among other issues," the company said.
A strike would follow similar labour stoppages in recent weeks by Brazilian workers including bank and postal employees seeking a greater share of the country's economic growth.
Continued union demands for higher wages have boosted worries that salary increases could spur Brazil's inflation that is already running above the government's target.
Petrobras has faced growing complaints from unions about conditions of platforms, particularly older platforms in the Campos basin where most of Brazil's oil is produced.
The labour ministry in May ordered Petrobras to shut the P-65 platform on safety concerns. A fire on a diesel fuel tanker killed one worker in September.
Petrobras halted platforms in January and February this year following a brief fire and a gas leak.
Petrobras is a net exporter of oil but still imports crude to meet technical limitations of local refineries. Most of Brazil's output is heavy crude which is harder and more expensive to refine that lighter grades.
The company imported 376,000 barrels per day of crude in the first half of 2011, compared to crude exports of 461,000 bpd in the same period.
Brent crude prices rose on Monday to their highest level in more than seven weeks, driven by hopes for resolution to Europe's debt crisis and worries about Iran's nuclear program. US crude futures gained for a fourth day in a row to settle at the highest level in 14 weeks.
Petrobras' chief financial officer Almir Barbassa said earlier this year that the company has seen an increase in government-ordered platform shutdowns in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico spill, considered one of the worst environmental disasters ever in the US.
The company insists its operations are safe.
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