Shell’s 3.6 mtpa Prelude floating LNG unit offshore Western Australia will remain offline as striking workers have extended protected industrial action.
A Shell spokesperson confirmed to LNG Prime that the action had been extended for another week to September 1.
Shell and Prelude employees have been in talks for a new enterprise agreement to agree new salaries for a while now.
The workers started protected industrial action on June 14 with a number of working bans.
Shell stopped production on July 11 on the giant unit due to additional working bans.
It recently also decided to postpone the FLNG’s scheduled maintenance.
The Offshore Alliance said in a social media post that Shell has lost “an estimated $1.3 billion of production in a dispute which has locked down production and prevented any offtakes for over five weeks.”
“No company in Australian history has lost so much money in a bargaining dispute,” it said.
“Our Prelude members have drawn a line in the sand on job security and have this week supported the extension of protected industrial action until our bargaining claims are resolved,” the Offshore Alliance said.
Prelude shipped its first cargo in June 2019 after several start-up delays. The FLNG has the capacity to produce 3.6 mtpa of LNG, 1.3 mtpa of condensate, and 0.4 mtpa of LPG.
Shell operates the floating facility with a 67.5 percent stake. Japan’s Inpex holds a 17.5 percent stake, Korea’s Kogas 10 percent, and Taiwan’s CPC holds 5 percent.
