Commodities
Inpex to Seek Urgent Orders from Australian Tribunal to Stop Strike at Ichthys LNG Facility
Japanese energy company Inpex said it will seek "urgent orders" from the Fair Work Commission in Australia to halt the proposed protected industrial action declared by contractual workers at its 9.3 million metric-ton-a-year Ichthys liquefied natural gas export plant in Darwin, northern Australia from Thursday.In a statement shared withon Wednesday, Inpex Senior Vice President Corporate, Bill Townsend confirmed the company has been informed of further potential protected industrial action from June 11-23 and added that it is planning accordingly."If the Ichthys production facilities are taken offline, there will be impacts to our LNG buyers and to the recipients of our domestic gas supply in the Northern Territory. In the context of current fuel supply constraints, the disruption would be significant," the statement said."Inpex will be seeking urgent orders from the Fair Work Commission to stop the protected industrial action, so that the parties can continue bargaining to reach an agreement," it added.Inpex said it continues to actively engage in enterprise agreement negotiations with its employees and substantial progress has been achieved, although an agreement was yet to be reached over several important topics like rates of pay, allowances, and career progression framework.In a statement on Tuesday, the workers' union Offshore Alliance accused Inpex of abandoning good-faith negotiations and said that employees have chosen to escalate protected industrial action from Thursday, instead of accepting a series of last-minute offers from the company."Despite telling the Fair Work Commission on Saturday that negotiations were progressing, Inpex abruptly cancelled a scheduled Commission conference on Sunday, informed the union it no longer required assistance from the Commission, and then failed to deliver its promised bargaining offer until after the period set aside for discussions had expired," according to a statement from the union's representative.Earlier in the week, Offshore Alliance accused Inpex of using unqualified personnel during periods of protected industrial action at the Ichthys LNG facility.The union claimed in a Facebook post that the health and safety of its members was being put at risk by the company's gross negligence and that it had lodged a formal complaint with the Australian regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.Last week, Offshore Alliance members initiated a limited "industrial action" across all facilities of Inpex's Ichthys LNG plant.According to its website, Offshore Alliance is a partnership between the Australian Workers' Union and the Maritime Union of Australia, and covers workers in the offshore oil and gas industry.A strike at the facility, which accounts for about 2% of global LNG output, could reportedly have had severe consequences for the market amid the supply disruption at the Strait of Hormuz."Inpex remains focused on maintaining safe operations at Ichthys LNG - and importantly, ensuring reliable energy supply to our key trading partners in the Indo-Pacific region amid disruption to global energy markets," Inpex said in its statement.has reached out to a Offshore Alliance representative for comments.