(Bloomberg) -- European natural gas prices fluctuated as a recent recovery in imports of tanker-borne fuel cushioned risks posed by looming strikes in Australia.

Benchmark futures swung between small losses and gains as the clock is ticking on Chevron Corp. to negotiate a deal with labor unions and avert industrial action at two major liquefied natural gas plants threatened to start on Thursday.

Should the strikes at Gorgon and Wheatstone go ahead, any impact could be limited for now before heating demand starts. Imports of LNG in Europe are recovering after a dip, helping offset reduced pipeline-gas flows from Norway amid maintenance there. Still, the market remains on high alert for any prolonged blips in supplies.

The LNG market is still fragile and there is too much complacency, Steve Hill, executive vice president of Shell Energy, said at the Gastech conference in Singapore. Supply issues could therefore cause challenges, he said, adding that Shell would help mitigate any disruptions in Australia.

In the meantime, the European Union expects member states to reduce imports of Russian natural gas to 40 billion cubic meters from 80 billion cubic meters this year, European Commision Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said in an interview with Handelsblatt.

The region is looking to reduce imports of Russian LNG further in the coming months as it expands infrastructure and forges new partnerships, he said. 

Still, “doing without Russian gas completely is still almost a ‘mission impossible’,” he said. 

Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark, fell 1.3% to €34.00 a megawatt-hour at 9:15 a.m. in Amsterdam. 

--With assistance from Petra Sorge and Stephen Stapczynski.

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