European gas surges 18pc amid LNG strike fears
European natural gas futures jumped by as much as 18 per cent as the labour disputes at Woodside LNG appeared unresolved, potentially disrupting global supplies if staff proceed to strike.
Talks were scheduled to take place between union officials and Woodside on Tuesday. While the discussions resulted in some progress, the two sides weren’t yet close to an agreement ahead of a potential strike decision for Friday, Montel reported.
Walkouts could put as much as 10 per cent of global LNG exports at risk of interruption. While Europe rarely buys Australian gas, it would need to compete with other countries in Asia for replacement cargoes.
“Preliminary talks between the unions and the LNG projects’ shareholders did not result in any breakthroughs,” said Leo Kabouche, an LNG analyst at Energy Aspects in London. “A full resolution is unlikely to be reached without the full support of the Offshore Alliance, and recent social media posts from the union indicate that we are still some way away from this.”
A Woodside Energy spokesperson said they haven’t been notified of industrial action as yet.
Meanwhile, with the threat of possible strikes looming, the Gorgon facility operated by Chevron is already holding back from some spot market sales, traders with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg News.
“Any signs of strike action going ahead could cause a bullish run up to and into the start of winter over fears of supply disruptions,” analysts at Inspired Plc wrote in a note.
Separately, natural gas deliveries to the Corpus Christi liquefaction terminal in the US fell to 1.6 billion cubic feet-day, according to BNEF’s LNG Feedgas Model, adding to strains on global supplies.
Even though Europe’s gas inventories are well-above
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