Economy•Sep 8 ’23 07:20•Adapted on Sep 8 ’23 11:17Author: Bram van Eijndhoven
Employees of energy company Chevron in Australia are to stop work for two weeks. The strike had previously been postponed for 24 hours because progress had been made in the mediation talks, but that turned out not to be enough. The strike could have major consequences for the global supply of LNG.
(Unsplash)
According to Hans van Cleef, energy economist at Public Affairs, the long-term loss of Chevron’s LNG production would have a ‘serious impact’. ‘The US and Qatar are the largest producers of LNG in the world, but Australia is a close third with 18 percent. Chevron does a third of that and that means more than 6 percent of the global supply.’
Global market
How much influence the strike will ultimately have on gas prices depends mainly on how long the strike will last. “We don’t need much gas to heat our homes yet,” says Van Cleef. ‘But if demand soon picks up and there are concerns in the market about how long this will last, then it could really have a major impact.’
Also read | Days of gas price decline evaporates
Although Australia itself hardly supplies LNG to Europe, we will almost certainly feel the blow of the Chevron strike here too. According to Van Cleef, this is because the LNG market has grown into a global market. ‘When there is a shortage in Asia, where a lot of Chevron’s LNG goes, those countries will start shopping on the global market and there will automatically be a shortage here too.’
Stocks
The gas price has already risen in recent weeks due to unrest about possible shortages that could arise next winter. If an agreement is reached quickly between Chevron and the striking employees, these concerns will be resolved in no time. “The moment an agreement is reached, production will continue again and you will see that stocks will continue to be filled,” said the energy economist.
2023-09-08 09:17:00
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