The West Australian reported this morning that the jobs were being axed as part of corporate belt-tightening that has been exacerbated by collapsing oil and gas prices, with local staff are being targeted ahead of expatriate workers, but a Chevron spokesperson said that is not the case.
Of the 200 jobs as many as 50 of Chevron's 120-strong Wheatstone project team and up to 150 of Bechtel's 650-strong on-site workforce will reportedly finish up next month, the paper reported.
A Chevron spokeswoman told Energy News that the job cuts were simply part of the demands of the organisation are it moves from investing in major capital projects to operations.
She said the job cuts had been flagged for some time.
"With additional cost pressures facing the industry and a lower oil price environment, we have been doing more work to reduce costs and to align work activities with achieving first LNG at Gorgon and Wheatstone," she said.
"As we transition the business over the next several years, we continually review our business needs to have the right skills and competencies in place to meet our future requirements."
A Bechtel spokesman told Energy News staffing "restructures and realignment are a standard part of our process on all projects to ensure efficient delivery".
"The centre of gravity is construction at the Ashburton North site; we're ensuring we have the right staffing structure to support and perform module installation and other construction works," he said.
Both said they were actively recruiting and training workers for new roles.
Chevron is training operations personnel to work on Gorgon and Wheatstone, while the Wheatstone project continues to recruit for its construction workforce.
"We're still recruiting skilled industrial construction trades workers for jobs directly with us and our subcontractors," Bechtel's spokesperson said.
"We're heading towards peak construction with thousands more appropriately skilled, experienced and qualified workers needed over the construction program."
Bechtel has employed thousands at other LNG plants around Australia, but its WA workforce is currently around 800.
The Chevron spokesperson also said that it was the company's preference to hire Australian workers first, and that there was no discrimination in the recent job losses.
"Having a ready-made local workforce is good for the economy and helps our business plan efficiently," she said.
Interested workers are encouraged to register their interest at wheatstonejobs.com.
Gorgon is expected to begin production around the end of 2015.
Wheatstone is now more than 65% complete.
