Chevron Australia, LNG unions to meet for mediated talks on Wednesday - Reuters
Chevron Australia, LNG unions to meet for mediated talks on Wednesday | Reuters
Chevron Australia, LNG unions to meet for mediated talks on Wednesday
The Chevron offices are pictured after the U.S. government granted a six-month license allowing Chevron to boost oil output in U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela, December 2, 2022. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa Acquire Licensing Rights
SYDNEY, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Chevron and unions representing workers at its two Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities will meet for talks on Wednesday after the oil and gas major asked the industrial arbitrator to help close a deal as workers threaten to restart strikes.
Chevron (CVX.N) and unions will meet at 10.30 a.m. AWST (0230 GMT) for talks with Commissioner Bernie Riordan, according to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) website. Riordan helped broker an in-principle agreement last month that ended weeks of strikes at the Gorgon and Wheatstone facilities.
But efforts to turn those principles into a legally binding agreement faltered last week when unions accused Chevron of reneging on commitments. Unions said on Monday strikes would resume on Oct. 19.
In response Chevron said it was committed to a deal and only a small number of issues remained, including how travel and meal expenses are reimbursed and cabin sharing on the Wheatstone offshore platform.
Chevron on Tuesday referred Reuters to its comments from the night before.
Unions have told Chevron and the FWC they would walk away from September's agreement in the event of amendments which lower worker entitlements, a union official involved in the talks told Reuters.
Reporting by Lewis Jackson, Editing by Louise Heavens
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Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.