Woodside Energy has reached an in-principle agreement with unions at Australia’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, averting a walkout that threatened global gas supply.
Workers at the Woodside-operated North West Shelf offshore liquefied natural gas platforms had threatened to strike as early as September over issues including pay after the Australian company and union officials failed to find common ground after months of talks.
The Australian energy giant said the deal was reached on all claims relating to remuneration and other terms and conditions of employment, with the enterprise agreement to be finalised and then voted on by employees.
Delegates of the Offshore Alliance, which combines the Maritime Union of Australia and Australian Workers’ Union, have endorsed the deal and committed to not filing a “Notice of Protected Industrial Action” while that process is underway.
Meanwhile, the Chevron dispute is still ongoing, and workers at its Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG facilities voted on Thursday to allow unions to call for a strike if necessary. The same unions that struck a deal with Woodside warned on Friday of taking action, which could range from refusing to load tankers or vessels with LNG to complete work stoppages.
“Their stupidity is about to cost them $billions in lost production and profit,” the Offshore Alliance warned in a Facebook post on Friday.
Worries about strikes had fuelled volatility in natural gas prices over the past few weeks. Woodside’s North West Shelf plant and Chevron’s two facilities produce about 10% of global LNG supply and nearly 50% of the gas consumed in Western Australia.
