W orkers at liquefied natural gas projects in Australia operated by oil major Chevron went on strike Friday after talks with employers broke down.
The industrial action could disrupt global supplies of natural gas, which were impacted last year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Australia is the world’s biggest producer of LNG. European natural-gas prices were up 9% on Friday. U.S. gas prices rose about 2%.
No further talks have been scheduled after five days of discussion, mediated by the Fair Work Commission, an Australian regulator. The dispute concerns pay, overtime, job security and rosters, and the strikes are designed to escalate over coming weeks.
A spokesperson for Chevron (ticker: CVX) confirmed that talks had ended.
“Throughout this process, we bargained in good faith and sought to reach an agreement that achieves a market competitive outcome which is in the interests of both employees and the company,” the Chevron Australia spokesperson said in an email. “The unions continue to seek terms that are above and beyond equivalent terms with others in the industry.”
Chevron shares were rising 0.4% to $167.30 in premarket trading.