Both are major players in liquefied natural gas, a shipped commodity that has replaced some of Russia’s market share of piped gas in the European market. Rystad Energy, a Norwegian consultant group, said a potential strike could disrupt as much as 50% of Australia’s export capacity, causing a market scramble to shore up alternate supplies.

“Looking ahead, we expect the bullish outlook for gas prices to continue with fewer LNG imports to Europe, planned maintenance for Norwegian pipelines and continued heatwaves in multiple regions globally,” senior analyst Zongqiang Luo said in an emailed report.

Both companies are working to avert a strike. Nearly all of the workers voted in favor of a strike over pay and working conditions, Australian media reported. Any formal action would not only squeeze European markets, but trigger a race for resources in Asia, which draws heavily on Australia for the super-cooled LNG.

“Total LNG inventory in Japan may have fallen below last year’s due to more robust power demand,” Rystad added. “However, this is partially offset by muted demand from city gas utilities and additional availability of nuclear capacity.”

Sanctions limit what Western powers can import from Russia, which is one of the world’s leading natural gas producers.

Outside of Australia, much of the resources are coming from LNG shipping from U.S. export terminals situated largely on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Neither Chevron nor Woodside had public comments regarding ongoing labor negotiations.