Women have seized control of an oil rig in Nigeria, trapping about 700 workers.
Officials from ChevronTexaco are holding talks with the protesters amid fears the demonstrations could spread.
Around 150 women boarded the Escravos rig in the Niger delta demanding jobs for their sons and electricity for their villages.
State police commissioner Mr John Ahmadu said talks broke down again yesterday.
"They are insisting on seeing only the top management," he said.
The women have vowed to stay until their demands are met.
Mr Ahmadu said other groups in the Niger delta region were threatening similar protests, citing reports that women from the Itsekiri tribe were threatening to take over oil wells in their region.
"It looks like this is growing," he said.
The women are preventing workers from entering or leaving the rig.
But Mr Ahmadu said the workers were not in danger, and that the oil giant was providing the women with food and medical help.