Industrial action by Australia's Offshore Alliance (OA) union at Chevron's 8.9mn t/yr Wheatstone LNG, 15.6mn t/yr Gorgon LNG and Wheatstone gas platform has been delayed by 24 hours to 06:00 local time on 8 September, Chevron told Argus today.
Talks are being mediated by Australia's Fair Work Commission, and will continue until 8 September, an OA spokesperson said on 4 September.
News of the delay might have triggered a sharp fall on the Dutch TTF hub today. Wheatstone and Gorgon account for 6pc of global liquefaction capacity.
Intermittent industrial action is planned until 14 September, then a full work ban until 29 September. Workers at the terminals voted overwhelmingly on 1 September to reject Chevron's proposed enterprise agreement.
Chevron did not immediately respond to Argus' query about whether the start of the total work ban has also been delayed by a day, to 15 September.
OA has offered to perform any further Wheatstone platform work required after the gas processing plant's recent trip during the industrial action — the plant needs to be restarted before LNG production resumes in the coming days — "as a show of good faith".
