Australia’s Karratha LNG plant closed after cyclone amid fuel shortages

An LNG tanker from the Karratha LNG Plant, off the coast of Western Australia, Australia, in 2003.

Photo: SCMP At least one of the world’s largest LNG plants remained closed on Sunday after a cyclone knocked out power to thousands of people in Western Australia.

The outages were restricting already stretched fuel supplies caused by the war in the Middle East.

Woodside Energy, which processes fuel from one of the world’s biggest offshore gas operations, said on Sunday that its Karratha plant remained offline. “We have commenced remobilising our workforce to some of our offshore facilities and inspections will inform start-up processes and timing,” a spokesperson for Woodside said. “Production at the North West Shelf Project will recommence once it is safe to do so.” The spokesperson said its Macedon and Pluto sites remained open.

Energy giant Chevron has said it suffered outages at its Gorgon and Wheatstone gas plants, which collectively supply more than five per cent of the world’s liquefied natural gas.

Chevron did not immediately respond to questions about the status of the plants on Sunday.

Australia is one of the world’s largest LNG exporters, supplying Asian nations reeling from fuel disruptions caused by Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade as Tehran retaliates against Israeli-US attacks.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle whipped up winds of 200 km/h and destroyed several homes.

As of Sunday, more than 1,400 homes were still without power.

Western Australia Premier Roger Cook announced one-off payments to people with home damage to be used for temporary accommodation, food, clothing and to assist with transport. “We’ve got your back and help is coming,” Cook said.

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