The workers’ strikes at facilities in Australia could cause problems in the LNG freight market, as freight rates have climbed above $100,000 a day on the spot market.
Workers at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone units are expected, according to the data so far, to begin mobilizations on September 7.
“The two facilities account for 6% of global LNG supply. They are moving cargoes to Asian customers, with Japan being the biggest recipient,” Alex Froley, LNG analyst at ICIS commodity tracker, pointed out to “Naftemporiki”.
“We don’t expect all these cargoes to disappear from the market immediately. Until now, the workers have announced a series of work stoppages. We don’t expect them to actually close the factory, which is a long process. If the strikes are called off before they start or last for a week, the impact may be low. We have yet to hear from buyers in China and Japan looking for replacement cargoes,” Froley explained.
However, it should be noted here that the risk of market turmoil will be greater if the protests escalate. “If the strikes take on a larger dimension and last for several weeks or months, the impact will be more significant,” the ICIS analyst explained.
