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Union begins strikes at Australia's Ichthys LNG: Update
Union begins strikes at Australia's Ichthys LNG: Update
Adds statement from Inpex in paragaph 5 Sydney, 2 June (Argus) — The union representing oil and gas workers at the 9.3mn t/yr Ichthys LNG project near Australia's northern city of Darwin began strikes from 6am Australian Western Standard Time today (10pm GMT 1 June), according to the Offshore Alliance (OA) union. Protected industrial action authorised by members in April has started despite significant progress in talks between the union and project operator Japan's Inpex that led to delays to planned work stoppages last week, the OA said. The strike action includes union members downing tools between 6am and 8am and 6pm and 8pm, and bans on overcycle, working past 6am on demobilisation day, and swapping between day shift and night shift without at least four weeks' notice from management. All three Inpex facilities will be disrupted by stoppages of work and work bans, including the onshore processing facilities and LNG terminal at Darwin harbour, the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) and central processing facility (CPF) units. Management remains committed to engaging in good faith to reach a fair and equitable agreement, maintaining safe operations and ensuring reliable energy supply, Inpex's senior vice-president Bill Townsend said. The OA has served a further notice to Inpex setting out more strikes to occur from 11-23 June but the union remains committed to negotiating and pausing industrial action should Inpex return to genuine bargaining, it said. Ichthys can also produce about 100,000 b/d of condensate and 1.65mn t/yr of LPG, shipping about 1.36mn t of LPG in 2025. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US May factory activity quickens to 4-year high: ISM
US May factory activity quickens to 4-year high: ISM
Houston, 1 June (Argus) — US manufacturing activity expanded in May at the fastest pace in four years, with production and demand indicators growing, even as factory purchasing managers expressed concerns about the Iran war and rising prices. The manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 54 in May, up from 52.7 in April and the highest since May 2022, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said in its latest survey results. Readings over 50 signal growth, while those below that level point to contraction. The new orders index rose to 56.8 in May, up from 54.1 in April, marking a fifth month of gains following four months of contraction. ISM said 25pc of respondents' comments were positive while 69pc were negative. The Iran war was mentioned in 42pc of comments and tariffs in 18pc. Price volatility was mentioned in 57pc of comments. "Despite the positive momentum for demand, sentiment remained dominated by the war in Iran," Oxford Economics said in a note on the ISM report. "The strait of Hormuz closure is driving up oil, fuel, and raw material costs, creating shipment delays and price hikes across industries." The production index rose by 0.9 to 54.3, ISM reported. The prices index slipped to 82.1, still in solid expansion. The employment index rose by 2.2 to 48.6, signaling a diminishing rate of contraction, with only half of respondents hiring. The supplier deliveries index was unchanged at 60.6 from April after rising in each of the prior five months. The unchanged reading marked continued slower deliveries, which is typical of improving economic activity and rising customer demand. Customers' inventories rose to 42.7 in May from 39.1, remaining "too low", according to ISM, which is considered a positive sign for future demand. The new export orders index rose by 2.7 points to 50.6, returning to growth, while the import index rose to 53 from 50.3. "Impact of Iran conflict starting to directly and negatively impact cost of supply chain," a transportation equipment survey respondent said. "Oil and related commodities are escalating in price." "The Middle East conflict is triggering shipment delays and uncertainties," a machinery respondent said. "Elevated gas prices and inflation will surely impact our purchases. However, over the last quarter, we've seen increased demand that was unexpected." By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
State lawmakers may hold fate of Alaska LNG
State lawmakers may hold fate of Alaska LNG
Houston, 1 June (Argus) — Alaska's state lawmakers are convening in a special legislative session to consider tax relief for the 20mn t/yr Alaska LNG export project, a potentially make-or-break decision that developer Glenfarne says is required to secure financing. Alaska governor Mike Dunleavy (R) ordered the state legislature to convene for a special session in late May with only one priority: pass a bill that would reduce upfront costs for Alaska LNG. Dunleavy first unveiled a proposal on 20 March pushing for a carve-out that would exempt Alaska LNG from the state's existing property tax law and replace it with a volume-based tax on its pipeline flows. But the legislature failed to pass a bill by the end of the legislative session on 20 May, citing a need for more information from Glenfarne. Lawmakers began the 30-day special session on 21 May. "I'll remain optimistic that the legislature just needs a little bit more time in this special session that they didn't have because of all the other bills they had to deal with in the regular session," Dunleavy told Argus . For Glenfarne, which took over the project in early 2025 after other developers abandoned it in 2016 citing cost concerns, tax reform is necessary to move forward with the project. The legislative effort is "one component of the requirements needed for Alaska LNG to proceed", a Glenfarne spokesman told Argus , calling Alaska's property taxes "a hurdle for the development of a North Slope natural gas project for more than a decade". Glenfarne plans to split Alaska LNG into two phases. The first encompasses construction of a 739-mile, 3.5bn ft³/d pipeline from Alaska's gas-rich North Slope to the state's south-central coast ( see map ). The line would also supply the domestic market, which faces a looming gas supply shortage amid declining domestic production in the Cook Inlet. The second phase of adding the liquefaction terminal would come later with a separate financial decision. Glenfarne hopes to begin construction on the pipeline in the first half of 2027, with first flows moving in late 2029. Under the state's existing law, Alaska LNG would be exempt from property taxes during construction. Once the project is in service, Dunleavy's proposal would replace the property tax with a volumetric tax of 6¢/1,000 ft³ of throughput on the pipeline. The volumetric tax would apply only after throughputs reach a 30-day average of 1bn ft³/d or 10 years after the first flows, granting Glenfarne a ramp-up period and reducing its upfront tax burden. The former is unlikely to occur without the liquefaction phase. The domestic gas market along the proposed pipeline consumes less than 300mn ft³/d, according to consultancy firm Rapidian Energy. The volume-based treatment equals about a 90pc reduction in property taxes that the state and local municipalities would collect under the existing law for oil and gas projects, according to the Alaska Department of Revenue. Legislators have proposed higher volumetric rates, up to as much as 55¢/1,000 ft³, to ensure more revenue. A concealed cost Though lawmakers broadly support Alaska LNG, they have questioned Glenfarne's ability to deliver the project as well as its true cost. The $44bn estimate for both phases comes from a study published in 2016. Rapidian Energy estimated last year that the project's total price tag will command between $53bn-63bn, with upside risk for labor and steel costs due to the project's remote location. "Glenfarne was unknown 18 months ago. They have no completed N. America projects. But they want a 92pc reduction in our local property taxes," senator Cathy Giessel (R), chair of the Senate Resources Committee, wrote in a newsletter to constituents in March. "They are holding all financial information about the project confidential. This is not a good business position for our state to be in." Dunleavy hopes the special session will provide enough time for lawmakers to receive the information they need. If not, Dunleavy told Argus he would consider calling another special session unless lawmakers outright oppose the project. By Tray Swanson Alaskan LNG projects Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Foreign buyers lured back to Canada’s upstream
Foreign buyers lured back to Canada’s upstream
New York, 1 June (Argus) — After rushing to the exits just a few years ago, international buyers are returning to Canada's oil and gas patch, drawn by a deep pool of untapped reserves on offer as growth slows elsewhere. A pivot back to oil and gas under Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, driven in part by a desire to diversify exports given trade tensions with the US, has seen moves to fast-track pipeline projects and ease some environmental regulations. Overseas investors are also increasingly turning to Canada as a relatively safe haven at a time of geopolitical uncertainty, in a marked shift after some of the largest majors scaled back exposure to the oil sands following investor pressure. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have largely centred upon the Montney shale basin in British Columbia and Alberta, as well as the Duvernay in west-central Alberta. A slowing US shale sector that has seen the best remaining acreage already exchange hands is also spurring greater interest in Canadian inventory that offers a cheaper cost of entry. "These Canadian plays — the Montney and Duvernay — offer a good blend of high-quality resource and duration, and that's something that some US operators lack today," says energy consultancy Enverus' senior analyst Michael Berger. "There is an incentive to look north of the border." While Alberta's oil sector has been boosted by this year's rally in crude prices, there has also been a growing recognition of its outsized role against a backdrop of elevated trade tensions with the US. To that end, Carney has backed plans to increase LNG and oil exports from British Columbia to deepen trade ties with Asia and Europe, and pledged faster approvals to ease bottlenecks. In announcing its initial foray into Canada last week, US independent Northern Oil and Gas (NOG) cited the Duvernay's "high-quality, low-cost, long-life inventory with meaningful upside that remains largely untapped". NOG, which bought a 25pc stake in assets from Parallax Energy for $259mn, is following other US firms. Ovintiv doubled down on the Montney last year, acquiring NuVista Energy for $2.7bn, to gain control of 140,000 net acres and 100,000 b/d of oil equivalent. US private equity has also been keen, with Carlyle Group and NGP Energy Capital Management funding privately held Cygnet Energy's takeover of Kiwetinohk Energy in October. Parallax is backed by Carnelian Energy Capital. Vote of confidence In April Shell acquired ARC Resources in a $13.6bn deal that establishes Canada as a "heartland" for the major, chief executive Wael Sawan said. The purchase will also support Shell's growing LNG footprint in Canada. Calgary-based Whitecap Resources says the transaction has put a spotlight on the Canadian energy sector and "people are hyper-focused" on the Montney and Duvernay. The size and quality of inventory in Canada's hottest plays will continue to drive deals, but bigger acquisitions may be limited. "There are fewer and fewer candidates out there for large-scale M&A activity," Whitecap chief executive Grant Fagerheim says. A referendum scheduled for October over whether Alberta should remain part of Canada could cast a shadow over the investment outlook, but analysts said it was too early to say whether it could slow deal-making. The total value of Canadian upstream deals is running at $17bn so far this year, Enverus says, compared with $19.5bn in 2025 and $12.9bn the year before. For now, analysts see further foreign interest in Canada's upstream, encouraged by a more supportive federal government and new pipeline projects that are easing concerns about getting supplies to market. "All of these factors combined with inventory pressures elsewhere have seen capital re-emerge and new buyers come back to Canada," TD Securities senior research analyst Aaron Bilkoski says. By Brett Holmes and Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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