(New throughout, adds details on when talks are scheduled toresume, background on strikes)
By Erwin Seba
HOUSTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A Royal Dutch Shell spokeswomansaid on Wednesday that talks with the United Steelworkers union(USW) were not broken off on the 11th day of a refinery workersstrike, contrary to a media report in the morning.
"We are focused on the extensive information request (fromthe USW)" said Shell spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh. "The linesof communication remain open."
A USW spokeswoman said the union was ready to continue talkswith Shell Oil Co, the lead negotiator for U.S. refinery owners.
"We're open for negotiations," said USW spokeswoman LynneHancock. "We're always willing to talk to Shell."
Oil traders said on Wednesday morning that a media outlethad reported that the talks had broken off. The Shellspokeswoman said the report was "incorrect."
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the twosides did not meet on Wednesday as Shell said it needed moretime to fulfill an information request from the union about theuse of non-union contractors, one of the sticking points in thetalks. About 5,400 workers are on picket lines in the first bigrefinery strike since 1980.
The sides are next scheduled to meet on Wednesday, Feb. 18,the sources said.
Since the talks started on Jan. 21, sticking points haveincluded the use of non-union contractors and how to monitorworker fatigue. Wage increases and health benefits are also onthe table.
Shell is the lead negotiator with the USW on a three-yearindustry-wide pact that would cover 30,000 workers at 63 U.S.refineries that together account for two-thirds of domesticcapacity.
Over the weekend, walkouts widened to include BP Plc's Whiting, Indiana, refinery and its joint-venture refinerywith Husky Energy in Toledo, Ohio.
In total, strikes have been called at 11 plants, includingnine refineries that account for 13 percent of U.S. refiningcapacity.
Companies have called on trained temporary replacementworkers to keep their plants running at nearly normal levels,except for Tesoro Corp, which opted to shut itsMartinez, California, refinery as part of an already ongoingoverhaul. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by David Gregorio)