Despite a fault at Chevron’s Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Western Australia last week, the company announced on Monday that full production had been resumed. The fault had caused a reduction in production by about 20%, but scheduled deliveries were unaffected. Wheatstone and the nearby Gorgon facility account for more than 5% of global LNG supply.
During the fault, LNG production continued at approximately 80% of usual rates, and vessel loading was uninterrupted. Chevron confirmed that there was no change to scheduled LNG deliveries and that domestic gas facilities and supply were also unaffected.
Recent shipping data on LSEG Eikon showed that exports from Wheatstone were also unaffected. Tanker Asia Excellence loaded an LNG cargo at Wheatstone over the weekend and is now en route to Japan, while Tanker Maran Gas Psara is currently being loaded at Gorgon.
The strike action, which has been ongoing, has not affected LNG shipments. Workers at the Wheatstone facility have escalated their strike action to 24-hour stoppages, but Chevron had previously stated that it would maintain supplies from the major LNG terminal despite disruptions. The strikes were originally set to run until the end of September, but the Offshore Alliance, a coalition of two unions, has now extended the industrial action until October 14th.
Chevron and the unions are scheduled to hold further talks mediated by the Fair Work Commission on Monday and Tuesday in an attempt to resolve the dispute over wages and conditions. However, a union representative expressed doubt about a positive result, as five days of similar talks earlier in the month ended without a deal.
Australia is currently the world’s largest exporter of LNG, and its top customers are China and Japan. Wheatstone has an export capacity of 8.9 million tonnes per year, while Gorgon has an export capacity of 15.6 million tonnes per year.
Sources:
– Reuters
– LSEG Eikon