Chevron's Strike-hit Australia LNG Facility Resumes Full Production

By Renju Jose and Lewis Jackson
Monday, September 18, 2023

Chevron said on Monday full production had resumed at its strike-hit Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Western Australia after a fault last week cut production by about one-fifth.

Wheatstone and the nearby Gorgon facility account for over 5% of global LNG supply, and the fault and the strikes did not affect scheduled deliveries, Chevron said, with shipping data on LSEG Eikon also showing exports from Wheatstone were unaffected.

Chevron said on Monday full production had resumed at its strike-hit Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Western Australia after a fault last week cut production by about one-fifth.

Wheatstone and the nearby Gorgon facility account for over 5% of global LNG supply, and the fault and the strikes did not affect scheduled deliveries, Chevron said, with shipping data on LSEG Eikon also showing exports from Wheatstone were unaffected.

"During (the fault), LNG continued to be produced at approximately 80% of usual rates, and vessel loading continued," a Chevron spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

"There has been no change to scheduled LNG deliveries. Domestic gas facilities and supply were unaffected."

Tanker Asia Excellence loaded an LNG cargo over the weekend at Wheatstone and is now headed to Japan, while tanker Maran Gas Psara is now loading at Gorgon, the LSEG Eikon data showed.

Chevron had said it would maintain supplies from the major LNG terminal in the face of disruptions, which intensified over the weekend as workers escalated their strike action to 24-hour stoppages from brief halts and limited bans on certain tasks.

The strikes were set to run until the end of this month but the Offshore Alliance, a coalition of two unions, on Saturday flagged their intention to extend the industrial action.

Chevron said on Monday it had received from the union notices of work stoppages until Oct. 14.

Chevron and unions were scheduled to hold further talks mediated by the Fair Work Commission on Monday and Tuesday, according to a union representative who declined to be named and was doubtful of a positive result.

Five days of similar talks earlier in the month ended without a deal.

On Friday, Australia's industrial tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, will hear from Chevron and the unions in a bid to resolve the dispute over wages and conditions, and is expected to deliver its ruling soon after.

Australia is currently the world's biggest exporter of the super-chilled fuel, and China and Japan are its top two customers, followed by South Korea and Taiwan.

Wheatstone has an export capacity of 8.9 million tonnes a year and Gorgon has an export capacity of 15.6 million tonnes a year.

(Reuters - Reporting by Renju Jose and Lewis Jackson in Sydney, and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Miral Fahmy and Sonali Pau)

Categories: People & Company News Offshore LNG Production Australia/NZ

Related Stories

Sapura Energy Nets $22.6M in Offshore Support Vessel Contracts

CNOOC Puts Into Production New Oil Field in South China Sea

Petrovietnam, Petronas Extend PSC for Offshore Block

Woodside to Shed Some Trinidad and Tobago Assets for $206M

Second Hai Long Substation Heads to Project Site Offshore Taiwan

Marine Masters Secures Wellhead Platforms Installation Job Off India

Tokyo Gas Enters LNG Market in Philippines

SLB Names Raman CSO, CMO

European LNG Imports Up with Asian Influx

Shell Shuts Down Oil Processing Unit in Singapore Due to Suspected Leak

Current News

TMC Books Compressors Orders for FPSO and LNG Vessels

MODEC, Sumitomo Partner Up for Delivery of Gato do Mato FPSO

Chuditch Gas Field Up for Summer Drilling Ops as Sunda Reshapes Ownership Structure

EnQuest Bags Two Production Sharing Contracts off Indonesia

Hanwha Drilling’s Tidal Action Drillship En Route to Petrobras’ Roncador Field

China's ENN, Zhenhua Oil Ink LNG Supply Deals with ADNOC

MODEC Wins ExxonMobil Guyana’s Hammerhead FPSO Contract

India Stretches Bids Deadline for 13 Offshore Deep-Sea Mineral Blocks

Indonesia Awards Oil and Gas Blocks to Boost Reserves

Sapura Energy Nets $22.6M in Offshore Support Vessel Contracts

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com