Perth, March 29, 2026, 23:03 (AWST)
Woodside Energy Group reported Sunday that production at its Karratha gas plant remains disrupted by Tropical Cyclone Narelle. Shares finished Friday at A$34.47, ticking up 0.26% on the Australian Securities Exchange. The continued outage follows damage at nearby Chevron sites, signaling tighter regional LNG supply as repairs drag on.
Here’s why it’s hitting hard now: Australia’s role in LNG just got bigger after Qatar halted output this month in response to Iranian strikes. Add in the cyclone shutdown and, as MST Marquee’s Saul Kavonic points out, over a quarter of the world’s LNG supply is now offline.
Woodside reported that operations at Karratha remain paused. The site, which serves as the North West Shelf project’s main onshore processing hub, handles a four-train export system capable of churning out 14.3 million tonnes annually. According to the company, North West Shelf production is expected to resume once crews can return to offshore sites. Macedon and Pluto, on the other hand, are still running as usual.
With problems piling up across Western Australia, that outage is carrying extra weight. Chevron, over the weekend, flagged several weeks to bring Wheatstone back to full strength after the storm tore through—though Gorgon is already back online. Santos, for its part, had already taken Darwin LNG offline for maintenance, and its Varanus Island gas plant went down too as Narelle rolled by.
Kavonic warned, “This will exacerbate gas market tightness in Asia and Europe.” Jefferies’ Mike Wilson pointed out, “the gas price ramp has been the most important takeaway for markets.” For Josh Runciman at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, the timing couldn’t be worse—the Australian shut-ins hit just as buyers were scrambling to replace Qatari cargoes. Reuters
Woodside’s U.S.-listed stock picked up 97 cents to trade at $24.78 late Friday, while Brent crude advanced 4.22% and finished at $112.57 a barrel. The modest gain in the home market stood out less, but the crude rally made sure LNG players stayed in focus, even with equities broadly losing ground.
But the situation is far from straightforward. Woodside’s upside from stronger gas and oil prices hinges on North West Shelf returning to service soon, and there are still plenty of snags on the logistics side. Port of Dampier got back online Saturday, but general cargo imports are still halted—inspectors uncovered notable damage. This week, Reuters flagged a potential for more swings in LNG stocks following their sharp run-up.
Investors are eyeing two key milestones: when Woodside’s workforce gets back to offshore sites, and if Chevron’s Wheatstone facility ends up in repair mode for more than “several weeks.” With those timelines still up in the air, Woodside’s immediate outlook hinges on a squeezed global LNG market and patchy output at home. Reuters
