For a moment, boiler pressure appeared on the natural gas market after a threat of strike in Australia's LNG production appeared to have been averted. Producer Woodside Energy closed a deal, after which the gas market relaxed. The gas price is still volatile, because competitor Chevron has not yet reached an agreement with the Australian trade unions. In addition, planned maintenance of the Norwegian gas network ensures a lower supply.
The gas market was again very volatile this week. On Wednesday, August 23, the price on the TTF closed at €36,79 per megawatt hour. Although that statistic is somewhat misleading. For most of the day the gas price was around €44. Just a day later (on Thursday, August 24), the gas price reached the lowest point of the week, at €31,94. However, the price then rose sharply again. On Monday, August 28, the price of the TTF was at the highest point of the week, at €38,41.
Over the past two weeks, the gas market has been completely captivated by possible strikes at several major Australian LNG exporters. This is not surprising, because in total the Australian companies in question sell no less than 10% of all LNG on the world market. In the night from Wednesday to Thursday there seemed to be some relief. Woodside Energy, the largest player on the Australian LNG market, reached an agreement with the unions. For a moment the market seemed to relax completely. Within a few hours, the price of the TTF fell from around €44 to €31,70, a drop of no less than 26%.
However, the return of peace soon became apparent. Although the market seems to be in the worst panic, gas prices quickly rose again after employees of the smaller player Chevron voted in favor of the possible strikes. The unions have now made it clear what possible industrial actions would look like. The current plan involves shutting down two terminals: Gorgon, which produces 15,6 million tons of gas per year, and Wheatstone, which is responsible for 8,9 million tons. The price of the TTF rose by as much as 10% when the news came out.
However, a strike is still no certainty. The signal to actually interrupt the work has not yet been given. The union is obliged to notify any strike at least seven days in advance. On Tuesday, August 29, the union threatened to stop work at Chevron from Tuesday, September 5. The current plan is to strike for nine hours on the first day. In the following days, the unions plan to stop work for ten and eleven o'clock. Despite the threatening language, it appears that Chevron is still in discussions with the unions. The American oil company has indicated that it does not want to break off negotiations.
Norwegian activities
In the meantime, the gas network in Norway is still being tinkered with. These days, the supply from Norway is even at its lowest point in two months. The supply from the large Troll field is at a standstill due to seasonal work. The Norwegian gas manager indicates that full supply has been restored from Saturday, September 7.