Workers on Chevron's massive Gorgon gas project on Barrow Island off Western Australia's Pilbara coast have been evacuated due to a gas leak, but the company says it is only a minor problem.
The CFMEU claims it could be a highly volatile situation until the acid gas removal unit is decompressed.
The union went as far as evoking the disastrous explosion on Apache Energy's Varanus Island gas plant in 2007, which slashed WA's domestic supply by one-third for several months.
But Chevron said the leak on Friday was minor and its incident management procedures were activated and authorities notified as part of standard operating procedure.
"Chevron's primary concern is always the health and safety of personnel," the company said in an emailed statement.
"Workers in the area were evacuated and there were no injuries."
Chevron said it remained on track to load the second cargo of LNG from Gorgon, Australia's largest resources project, in coming days.
The project started up in March but output was suspended the following month - a fortnight after the first cargo was shipped - due to a major technical breakdown.
