Cyclone Narelle shuts 44pc of WA gas supply

Three plants that supply almost half of WA's gas are out of action Friday morning after Cyclone Narelle tore through the state's main offshore gas facilities on Thursday.

Chevron's Wheatstone LNG project near Onslow, Santos' Varanus Island domestic gas plant, and Woodside's North West Shelf plant near Karratha are all not producing liquefied natural gas for export or gas for the domestic market.

Together, the three plants have supplied 44 per cent of WA's gas so far in 2026.

Additionally, Chevron's Gorgon project on Barrow Island has one of its three LNG trains out of action, but is continuing to supply gas into its pipeline to the mainland.

The shutdowns do not necessarily mean WA gas users will not get the fuel they need. 

The Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBNGP) can store significant amounts of gas as "linepack", and there are two underground gas storage facilities in the state.  

However, on Friday afternoon, the WA Gas Bulletin Board run by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) showed linepack status as amber at three locations along the DBNGP.

The site's capacity outlook showed that Varanus Island would start up mid Sunday, the North West Shelf would not resume gas production until Monday, and Wheatstone would be down until Thursday.

These times are likely rough estimates from the operators and will be confirmed once they have had a chance to fully inspect their shuttered facilities.

Shutdowns after a cyclone are not uncommon, and some of the shuttered plants may be able to be restarted quickly.

A Santos spokesperson said it prepared for Cyclone Narelle, including ensuring facilities in the cyclone’s forecast radius were safe and secured, and non-essential personnel evacuated.

"As the cyclone passed over, the (Varanus Island) plant has tripped," she said.

"Once weather conditions have abated and personnel can safely re-enter the plant, we'll return to normal operations.

“We will keep authorities notified as appropriate."

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Boiling ColdPeter Milne

Chevron has had problems at both its WA facilities. 

The offshore platform that supplies gas to the Wheatstone plant stopped working at midday on Thursday, ending production of gas for export and local use.

“As is standard practice during significant weather events, all personnel were demobilised from the Wheatstone Platform ahead of the cyclone passing, which has been operated remotely from our Perth office since Tuesday afternoon," a Chevron spokesman said.

Three hours later, the Gorgon plant had an outage at one of its three LNG trains.

“Severe weather associated with the passing of Tropical Cyclone Narelle likely caused the interruptions to both Gorgon and Wheatstone operations," he said.

“We will resume full production at both facilities once it is safe to do so.”

A Woodside spokeman said the Karratha Gas Plant, the onshore processing facility for the North West Shelf Project, had a production interruption due to the cyclone.

Two offshore platforms, North Rankin and Goodwyn, supply gas to the plant.

"Production ... is expected to recommence after Woodside is able to mobilise its workforce to its offshore facilities," he said.

"Our priority is the safety of our people, the environment and our assets,

"If there is any material impact to production or assets, Woodside will update the market in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations."

The company is still supplying gas to the WA market from its Pluto and Macedon projects.

UPDATES

• New Woodside comments added
• Linepack status and capacity outlook from the Gas Bulletin Board added