Japan's Inpex said on Friday that workers at its Ichthys liquefied natural gas facility in Australia had voted against a new employment agreement, raising the risk of a strike that could exacerbate already tight energy supplies globally.
"A majority of eligible employees have cast their vote and the proposed agreement has not been endorsed," an Inpex spokesperson said.
The Offshore Alliance, a grouping of the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers Union, had previously flagged that its 430 members would vote against the new contract, which it said does not meet benchmark industry standards for wages and conditions.
The Inpex spokesperson said the company would "continue to actively engage in the bargaining process in good faith and work collaboratively to address feedback from our workforce."
Separately, union members are due to finish voting next week on whether to take protected industrial action, with the ballot closing on April 24.
In 2023, a strike at Chevron’s Wheatstone facility in Australia tightened global LNG supply.
More than 20% of the world’s LNG supply has been constrained by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the Iran war on February 28.
(Reuters - Reporting by Helen Clark; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Kevin Buckland)