Woodside Stock In Focus After Australia Reportedly Cleared A Strike Vote At Key LNG Facility

• If employees vote in favor of a strike, it could begin before the end of the year.
• Offshore Alliance, a group of the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers Union, last week reported scarce progress in salary negotiations with Bechtel, the contractor building Pluto.
• The Pluto Train 2, sanctioned in November 2021, is expected to have a capacity of about 5 million tonnes per annum.

Woodside (WDX) shares are expected to be on retail radar after Australia’s Fair Work Commission reportedly approved a request by a union to hold a ballot for workers to vote on a potential strike on its Pluto LNG 2 project over a pay dispute.

According to a Reuters News report, the commission ordered the ballot to be held no later than Dec. 4. If employees vote in favor of a strike, it could begin before the end of the year. The project could slow work at the facility where the company hopes to ship its first liquefied natural gas cargo in the second half of next year.

What Is The Union Demanding?

As per the report, the Offshore Alliance, a group of the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers Union, last week reported scarce progress in salary negotiations with Bechtel, the contractor building Pluto, an expansion of an existing facility in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

Bechtel had opposed the ballot and the potential industrial action, noting that the alliance should not be encroaching on more traditional onshore construction work. The report added that three other unions have also made separate applications for a strike ballot for the same agreement.

What’s The Capacity Of Pluto LNG?

The Pluto Train 2, sanctioned in November 2021, is expected to have a capacity of about 5 million tonnes per annum. Australia is a net energy exporter and is banking on rising demand for LNG in Asia's emerging markets, with several coal plants slated for closure and replacement with LNG and other energy sources.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about Woodside was in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

Woodside’s U.S.-listed shares have grown 4.8% this year.

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