News

Unionized Workers at Chevron's Gas Operations in Western Australia Vote for Protected Industrial Action

1 2 3 4 5

4.3

Andrew R. Michaud

• August 28, 2023

Impact on Chevron's Australian Operations

Chevron's Australian unit operates two major liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Western Australia, which would be affected by potential strikes. The first is the Gorgon facility, which produces 15.6 million metric tons (mt) of LNG per year. The second is the Wheatstone project, with an annual production capacity of 8.9 million mt.

Workers' Unions Backed by Offshore Alliance

The Offshore Alliance, a combination of the Australian Workers' Union and the Maritime Union of Australia, announced on social media that 100% of the workers at the Wheatstone offshore platform have voted in favor of protected industrial action. This means that the unions now have the full support of their members across all three Chevron Australia-operated facilities.

Overwhelming Support for Action

The vote on the Wheatstone offshore platform followed a similar result last week, where 99% of the 450 workers at Chevron Australia's Gorgon LNG and Wheatstone downstream facilities voted in favor of taking protected industrial action. With this broad support from workers, the Offshore Alliance stated on social media that all 500 of its members across the three Chevron facilities are backing the action.

Next Steps

The Offshore Alliance confirmed that they will be filing protected industrial action notices shortly. This indicates that they are prepared to take further steps to enforce their demands for improved pay and working conditions.

As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how Chevron will respond to the workers' demands and if negotiations can be reached to avoid any potential disruption to the company's gas operations in Western Australia.

Chevron Australia Employees Vote in Favor of Industrial Action

Chevron Australia, the operator with a 47.3% stake in the Gorgon project, has stated that they are aware of the Wheatstone platform employees' support for industrial action following Monday's ballot results. The company remains committed to negotiating favorable outcomes for both its employees and the company.

Gorgon Project Details

Chevron Australia, along with joint-venture partners ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%), and JERA (0.417%), holds the majority stake in the Gorgon project. This strategic partnership allows Chevron Australia to supply approximately 4.5 million mt/year of LNG to Japanese customers and an additional 4.4 million mt/year to Korean customers.

Wheatstone Project Overview

As the major stakeholder in the Wheatstone project, Chevron Australia holds a 64.14% interest. Joint-venture partners include Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. (13.4%), Woodside Energy (13%), Kyushu Electric Power Co. (1.46%), and PE Wheatstone, which is partially owned by JERA (8%).

Reporting by Trisha Huang, Editing by Hanwei Wu