Markets are getting extremely nervous at the prospect of a possible strike at the liquified natural gas (LNG) plant in Australia. Experts fear that strike action at sites operated by Woodside and Chevron could disrupt gas exports from Australia, one of the largest LNG exporters after Qatar and the US. In such a scenario, the global energy market could lose around 50 billion cubic meters of gas supplies, and the price of the commodity in Europe and Asia could soar above $1,000 per 1,000 cubic meters. This will be a natural response of the market to a shortage of gas supplies. On August 9, gas quotes on the London-based ICE exchange jumped above $450 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time since June 21. At some point in trading, the quote increased by 40% to approach the threshold of $500. That is still much lower than in August 2022 but twice as high as in the period between 2017 and 2021. At the moment, the Woodside and Chevron energy companies are conducting talks with unions to avoid strikes. A similar situation happened in the summer of 2022 when workers at Shell Pluto LNG went on strike for 76 days. This time, if energy firms fail to negotiate terms with the unions, the strike could last from two to three months or even until the end of the year.
