Another labour dispute is threatening to hit Australia´s production of liquified natural gas (LNG).

Unions have given notification they will undertake rolling stoppages and work bans at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG projects in Western Australia that will start next week and escalate every week after that, in a key threat to global gas supply.

The Offshore Alliance (OA), a partnership between the AWU (Australian workers’ union) and the MUA (Maritime Union of Australia), which covers all workers in the offshore oil and gas industry, said in the social media that the Offshore Alliance lawyers served Chevron with formal notice of protected industrial action on all 3 West Coast facilities, commencing Thursday 7th September 2023.

The alliance warns that this battle “it’s set to cost Chevron their LNG exports as PIA starts to bite.”

The facilities, including the Gorgon and Wheatstone onshore processing plants and the Wheatstone offshore platform, supply about 7% of globally traded LNG.

If strikes were to stop production at both facilities for a month, around 7% of global supply would be lost, according to research analysts of global LNG. They also warn that if a strike were to go ahead, prices would rise, particularly if industrial action escalates.

“OA members will be participating in rolling stoppages, bans and limitations which will escalate each week until Chevron agrees to our bargaining claims,” said the alliance.

The boycott will start next Thursday, following an almost unanimous series of votes by union members, according to the alliance, which has 500 OA members on the 3 Chevron.

“The Offshore Alliance will be fighting from the front with Protected Industrial Action to secure an industry standard EBA. All 500 OA members on the 3 Chevron facilities are backing in PIA.”

The Offshore Alliance has 98% union density on the Gorgon and Wheastone facilities and members have voted 100% in favour of taking protected industrial action in support of a union EBA.

“The OA Chevron crew won’t be intimidated by an outfit which think they can exploit our resources, rip off Australian taxpayers and underpay highly skilled oil and gas workers engaged on remote major hazard facilities,” the alliance of the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers’ Union said on Facebook.

“The OA members will go one day longer and one day stronger than Chevron in our EBA campaign,” they warn.