Australian regulator authorises some LNG producers to coordinate maintenance

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Chevron (CVX) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

(Reuters) - The Australian competition regulator on Friday said it would allow Chevron <CVX.N>, INPEX <1605.T>, Shell <RDSa.L>, and Woodside Petroleum <WPL.AX> to coordinate maintenance activities at their liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

"LNG producers can now schedule maintenance together without risking breaching competition laws, reducing concurrent work at their facilities," Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.

The regulator said it made its decision on the basis that the LNG producers were competing for a limited pool of contractors and equipment to carry out scheduled maintenance work.

FILE PHOTO: Filled oil drums are seen at Royal Dutch Shell Plc's lubricants blending plant in the town of Torzhok, north-west of Tver, November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo

The authorisation has been granted for five years.

FILE PHOTO: Logos of Woodside Petroleum are seen at Gastech, the world's biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

(Reporting by Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin)