Strike in Australia, the Largest LNG Exporter... Concerns Over Impact on Asia Including Korea

Australia's major liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facilities have entered into a strike, raising concerns about potential impacts on the global natural gas market.

Chevron's Wheatstone LNG Plant in Western Australia
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to Bloomberg and AFP, workers at the Wheatstone and Gorgon gas fields operated by the American oil giant Chevron in Western Australia began a partial strike from 1 p.m. local time on the 8th, a union official said. The labor and management have been negotiating over wages, job security, overtime, and regulations regarding personnel transfers between Chevron workplaces, but failed to reach an agreement. During the partial strike, workers will stop operations for up to 11 hours a day, and overtime and other work activities are prohibited. The union stated that if the disputes over wages and working conditions are not resolved by the 14th, when the partial strike continues, a full strike will follow for two weeks.

Australia is the world's largest LNG exporter. The Wheatstone and Gorgon gas fields, which have entered the strike, are reported to account for 5 to 7% of the global LNG supply. With the strike starting at such large-scale facilities, LNG prices have shown an upward trend. Upon news of the strike, natural gas prices in the European market surged by about 12% at one point during the trading session. If the strike prolongs, Asian countries such as South Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan, which are major buyers of Australian LNG, are expected to be affected first. If the Asian market seeks alternative suppliers, this strike could also impact Europe. However, Bloomberg reported that since gas consumption in Europe and Asia is currently low, the impact of this strike on LNG shipments may not be significant.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.