Limited Strikes Begin at Ichthys LNG Facility as Union Wage Talks Stall

Union workers at the Ichthys LNG project in Australia have started limited industrial action at the facility. The action consists of two-hour work stoppages in the morning and two-hour stoppages in the evening. The Offshore Alliance, a coalition of two trade unions, notified Japan’s Inpex last month that a strike may be imminent.

A spokesperson for the Offshore Alliance stated on May 18 that the union would not accept reduced bargaining claims because Inpex had not reviewed the claims for six months. Media reports indicated some progress in negotiations, but the talks have not produced a final agreement on wages.

The Offshore Alliance issued a notice to Inpex detailing a ban on all activities associated with the preparation, connection, and loading of hydrocarbons from the Bladin Point onshore storage tanks to an offtake carrier, excluding cases where an offtake has already commenced.

Unless wage talks satisfy the Offshore Alliance, a broader strike will begin on June 11 and continue until June 23. 3 million tons of LNG annually and accounts for a tenth of Australia’s total exports of liquefied natural gas. Japan is the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas.

The country recently increased its use of coal amid supply constraints in the Middle East.