On Thursday, Australia’s Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) said that it would inspect Chevron’s Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the near term after receiving calls by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) to shut the plant.
The department’s Director Dangerous Goods and Petroleum Safety Steve Emery stated that it is aware of Chevron Australia’s issues with propane kettles at its Gorgon LNG plant during routine maintenance and understood that the company is investigating.
Previously on Monday, AMWU has called for Chevron to close the Gorgon plant for immediate safety inspections by the government regulator, and for a report to be made public.
According to AMWU, cracks about 1 meter long and 30 mm deep were found between 8-11 kettles on Train 2 by the non-destructive testing team. The union is concerned over the possibility of cracks in the vessels on other trains.
Steve McCartney, AMWU’s state secretary calls for Chevron to put workers’ safety first, and shut down for an independent investigation. “If something goes wrong it would be catastrophic,” he said.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday Chevon said that it was inspecting propane heat exchangers on Train 2 that has been closed for maintenance since May.
