Union to strike at Chevron’s Australian LNG facilities for 24 hours

SYDNEY, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Australia’s Offshore Alliance union said on Saturday workers were going on a 24-hour strike at Chevron’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in western Australia, as part of ongoing industrial action.

The work stoppage comes after Offshore Alliance – a union that combines the Maritime Union of Australia and Australian Workers’ Union – carried out limited strikes this week after talks with Chevron on wages and work conditions broke down.

The company’s Australian LNG facilities account for over 5% of global supply.

“Chevron’s 3 West Coast facilities are descending into chaos as Offshore Alliance members lock all 3 Chevron facilities down for the next 24-hours,” the union said in a Facebook post.

An Offshore Alliance representative, who declined to be named, said the strike would run until 8am WST Sunday (0000 GMT) when a decision would be made on whether it would continue.

He said unions will give Chevron notice this weekend of their intent to extend strikes of up to 24 hours for a further two weeks, to mid-October.

A Chevron spokesperson declined to comment on the union’s Facebook post. The company has previously said it is not in a position to provide ongoing comments on industrial action at its facilities.

Chevron’s Wheatstone facility on Thursday shut about a quarter of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, but it was not clear at the time if the fault was related to the strikes, which began in limited form on September 8.

Unions have said they will vary strikes according to “industrial strategy”, targeting LNG exports in particular.

Chevron has said it will continue to take steps to maintain operations if any disruptions occur, without giving details.

Analysts say the strikes pose little risk to global LNG supplies as they are likely to be temporary and key gas buyers have plenty of inventory ahead of the northern winter.

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