Australia tribunal rejects move by Japan's Inpex to stop LNG strike (updated)

INPEX

14/06/2026 04:19

Tribunal rejects Inpex strikebreaking attempt
Inpex says four LNG cargoes to be delayed
Employment bargaining must continue; strike runs to June 23
Adds Inpex comment paragraphs 4-6, union comment paragraphs 12-15, LNG spot prices paragraphs 18-19
By Helen Clark

    PERTH, June 14 (Reuters) - An Australian labour tribunal on Sunday rejected an application by Japanese gas company Inpex 1605.T to halt a strike by some 400 oil and gas workers at its Ichthys LNG project.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) rejected Inpex's claim that a shutdown would hurt the Australian economy due to lost export revenue and would risk dangerous blackouts.
The strike at the 9.3-million-ton-per-year facility will now run until June 23 with a ban on the loading of all cargoes. The commission's deputy president, Michael Easton, ruled that unions and the company must keep bargaining.
   Bill Townsend, Inpex's corporate senior vice president, called the result "disappointing" and confirmed an updated offer for employees was being prepared.
"Reaching an equitable and sustainable agreement with employees is a priority," he said.
"We are planning accordingly to mitigate impacts while maintaining safe and stable operations."
   
     NO EVIDENCE OF HARM

After a lengthy hearing that began on Saturday, Easton said he had found no evidence of an adverse economic effect from a strike or a danger to Australia's Northern Territory but accepted Inpex's view that there could be a halt to production that could last up to a week.
“I do not regard this to be a significant disruption. At least some of the previous production will not be lost as soon as the loading ban is lifted,” he said.
Power and Water Corp, a government-owned utility for the Northern Territory, has organised contingency measures to avoid blackouts, Easton said, while the Ichthys liquefied natural gas facility has sustained more comprehensive outages in the past with no adverse effect.

STRIKE ESCALATION AND EASING

Strikes escalated on Thursday to periods of up to eight hours after Inpex and union groups failed to find a solution. Late on Friday, the strike periods were wound back to two blocks of two hours at the beginning and end of a shift. 
The Offshore Alliance, made up of the Australian Workers Union (AWU) and the Maritime Union of Australia, had led bargaining with Inpex since last year and first threatened strike action in April. The Electrical Trades Union is also part of the strike, which seeks better pay, career progression and job security. 
During Saturday's hearing, both sides said substantial progress had been made since FWC-mediated talks started, but there were some outstanding matters. 
On Sunday, AWU's Western Australia branch secretary and Offshore Alliance spokesperson Brad Gandy said his workers were some of the most qualified in the country and were essential during an energy crisis. 
"This is exactly why the workers who keep the facilities running deserve to have security in their employment and be paid accordingly," he said.  

LNG CARGOES HIT 

The strike will result in LNG and condensate storage onshore reaching capacity within a few days, forcing a production shutdown, Inpex's superintendent for onshore, Damien Chandler, told the commission.
If production is halted for a week, four LNG cargoes would miss their loadings, an Inpex employee said, while two condensate cargoes had already missed loading. 
Inpex has also argued outages should not occur during periods of global energy insecurity given that Australia has secured agreements for continued supply of liquid fuels based on its energy relationships in Asia. 
Asian spot LNG prices LNG-AS are up 75% since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began and were recently at $18.80 per million British thermal units. 
Another Inpex employee said offshore production could slow and that this could create technical challenges that would also lead to a shutdown. 
Ichthys is a joint venture between Inpex, France's TotalEnergies TTEF.PA and the Australian subsidiaries of CPC Corporation Taiwan, Osaka Gas 9532.T, Kansai Electric Power 9503.T, JERA and Toho Gas 9533.T.


 (Reporting by Helen Clark; Editing by William Mallard and Thomas Derpinghaus)
 ((helen.clark@thomsonreuters.com;))