Australian cyclone hits LNG giants Chevron and Woodside

Tropical Cyclone Narelle has struck Western Australia and disrupted parts of its LNG production, potentially adding to tensions in the global gas market.

Chevron has confirmed outages at its Gorgon and Wheatstone facilities, while Woodside reports production disruptions at its North West Shelf project in Karratha. The plants are among the country’s most important export assets.

Global LNG supplies are already under strain from the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Chevron said it evacuated staff from the Wheatstone platform before the cyclone arrived and will resume production when it is safe to do so. Woodside, meanwhile, is awaiting the return of workers to offshore operations. Inpex, by contrast, said its Ichthys LNG project was unaffected.

Australian authorities are assessing the damage.

(reuters, pir)