Chevron LNG Workers Plan To Restart Strike despite Ongoing Talks
Although talks with the corporation are still ongoing, employees at Chevron’s Australian sites still intend to resume their strike action.
The Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG projects saw the start of industrial action in the middle of last month after Chevron and the workers’ union were unable to come to an agreement on new contract terms pertaining to working conditions and compensation.
In an effort to persuade the union to call off the strike, Chevron contacted the Fair Work Commission, which oversees the Australian labour market. In fact, employees eventually decided to end the walkout and reopen talks.
These, it seems, have been troubled from the start, because this month the Offshore Alliance—the union representing the Gorgon and Wheatstone workers—began threatening another strike.
In the latest update on the situation, Reuters reported that the talks had prompted “angry comments” from Chevron, which has said the workers were being unreasonable. The news agency, however, cited an unnamed source as suggesting the union was not going to make concessions and Chevron would have to change its position on several issues to avoid new strikes.
“The union’s decision to ignore the recommendation … while discussions are continuing is very concerning, unreasonable and undermines the considerable progress made prior to Chevron requesting the Commission’s assistance last week,” a Chevron spokesperson told Reuters.
The Gorgon project has a capacity of 15.6 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually, while the Wheatstone facility can produce 8.9 million tons annually. Together, the two account for over 5% of global LNG production capacity, and any disruption or even the suggestion of disruption of supply immediately affects global LNG prices.
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Right now is an especially vulnerable time for gas prices, particularly in Europe, as the reignition of violence between Israel and Hamas has prompted the shutdown of one large gas field offshore Israel, sparking fear of supply disruptions. The fear immediately pushed European gas prices higher as would any new strike action at Gorgon and Wheatstone.
