The United Steelworkers International says there is a bit of hope that operations at the Come By Chance Refinery will continue.
Ron Thomas, the spokesperson for the Newfoundland and Labrador wing, says the union has reached a tentative deal with North Atlantic Refining Ltd. However that deal is based on the contingency of a sale of the project with Cresta Fund Management.
The United Steel Workers have been in negotiations with North Atlantic Refining, and Thomas says his members will be voting on the tentative deal this Thursday.
The province put up $16.6-million in the Oil Recovery Fund to keep the project in warm idle, but that money will run out at the end of June.
Thomas says there is pressure on NARL to sell. He says if a collective agreement is signed with NARL, it would bring things a step closer to a sale.
The vote will run all day Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.