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Friday, 21 November, 2008, 19:20 GMT | more >>

Aussie fields in cyclone shutdown



By Upstream staff 

Woodside Petroleum has shut-in production from two fields on Australia's North West Shelf as a tropical cyclone threatened oil installations.

Woodside said production from the Cossack Pioneer FPSO was halted on Sunday while output from the Ocean Legend rig was suspended on Monday as category-one tropical cyclone Emma battered the Pilbara region of Western Australia with winds of up to 105 kilometres per hour.

Dampier's port was closed, some flights to the region were cancelled and communities in the storm's path were battening down.

The Cossack Pioneer normally produces 100,000 barrels of oil per day, while the Ocean Legend produces much less, about 9000 bpd.

The Australian producer said it expected no serious impact on the fields' operations with production set to resume when the storm passes.

Cyclone Emma is the third cyclone of WA's cyclone season, which runs between November and April, with most activity in the latter half of the period.


Tuesday, 28 February, 2006, 11:22 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 28 February, 2006, 11:22 GMT

Blowing in: Western Australia is braced for a new cyclone season
 

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