Chevron's Australian LNG plant workers plan two-week strike

Workers at two Australian plants owned by US company Chevron that supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) intend to stop work completely for two weeks from 14 September. The action is over disputes concerning wages and working conditions, the Offshore Alliance, a trade union alliance, announced today, according to Reuters. The price of gas on the European market reacted relatively mildly to the news, rising by around two percent shortly after trading began and hovering near 34 euros (820 Kč) per megawatt-hour, market data show.

The unions had previously called for short work stoppages at the plants from 7 September. Today's move signals that talks between the unions and management are not going well.

The Gorgon and Wheatstone plants account for more than five percent of global LNG supply capacity. Concerns about the negative impact of strikes at the plants on global gas supplies have recently pushed prices higher.

Australia is the world's largest LNG exporter. A prolonged strike at Chevron's plants could disrupt LNG exports and force buyers to compete for supplies by offering higher prices.

„This is likely to support gas prices now,“ ING bank said.

„It comes at a time when maintenance work at Norway's Troll gas field has led to a decline in supplies from Norway,“ it added.

Last August, the wholesale price of gas on the European market climbed to nearly 350 euros per megawatt-hour due to reduced supplies from Russia. Since then, however, it has fallen significantly, helped by high LNG supplies. The gas price on the exchange is now well below the administratively set cap in Czechia, which stands at 2500 Kč per MWh.