Cyclone Builds Off North Australia, May Threaten Oil Production

By Rebecca Keenan

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The oil and gas-producing region of West Australia state may be affected by a cyclone tomorrow as a tropical low develops, said the Bureau of Meteorology, which warned of strong winds.

The weather system is building over Western Australia state, about 500 miles southeast of Darwin, and has a 20 percent to 40 percent probability of developing into a cyclone tomorrow, the bureau said on its Web site. The system is likely to move west over the next few days, it said.

The region hosts most of Australia’s oil and gas production, which may be threatened by more tropical cyclones than average this season, according to an October forecast by the bureau. The region may experience five to seven cyclones between Nov. 1 to April 30, up from four last year, the bureau said.

A storm would be the third of the season, following Tropical Cyclones Billy and Anika. Billy, the second cyclone of the season, forced the closure of some oil and gas operations off the northwest coast of Western Australia. Anika, the first storm of the season, developed far offshore last month and had no effect on resources production.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rebecca Keenan in Melbourne at rkeenan5@bloomberg.net