A powerful tropical cyclone in Western Australia has disrupted production at two of the country's major liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, operated by Chevron and Woodside, exacerbating global supply tightness already caused by conflict in the Middle East. Following damage to Qatari facilities from an attack by Iran earlier this month, which halted production, Australia has become the world's second-largest LNG exporter. Disruptions to global LNG flows from the Middle East have also been caused by Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Chevron stated that it is working to restore production at its Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG facilities in Western Australia after they were shut down due to malfunctions. These malfunctions are likely linked to Tropical Cyclone Narelle, a category three storm that made landfall on Friday. Gorgon is Australia's largest LNG export facility, featuring three processing trains with an annual production capacity of 15.6 million tonnes. The smaller Wheatstone facility consists of two processing trains with a capacity of 8.9 million tonnes per year. Woodside also indicated that production at its Karratha Gas Plant has been affected by the cyclone. This plant serves as the onshore processing facility for the North West Shelf project, Australia's oldest and second-largest LNG operation. After shutting one of its five processing trains, the project's annual output stands at 14.3 million tonnes, down from a previous capacity of 16.9 million tonnes. MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic estimated that the cyclone is impacting over 30 million tonnes per year of Australia's LNG supply. He stated that, combined with the Middle East disruptions, more than a quarter of global LNG supply is currently affected. Kavonic said, "This will intensify tightness in Asian and European gas markets, particularly if it takes more than a few days for Australian production levels to return to normal." A spokesperson for Chevron Australia mentioned that a malfunction occurred at the Wheatstone platform, located approximately 225 kilometers (140 miles) off the west coast of Australia, around midday local time on Thursday (04:00 GMT), leading to the suspension of onshore gas production. The spokesperson said, "All personnel were evacuated from the Wheatstone platform ahead of the cyclone's passage, and since Tuesday afternoon, the platform has been operated remotely from our Perth office." Three hours later, a separate malfunction caused the shutdown of one of the three LNG processing trains at the Gorgon facility on Barrow Island, about 50 kilometers from the coast. A Chevron Australia spokesperson stated, "We will resume full production at both facilities once it is safe to do so." Woodside indicated that production at the North West Shelf project would restart once it is possible to return personnel to its offshore facilities. The company added that its Macedon domestic gas plant and Pluto LNG facility continue to operate. A spokesperson said, "Woodside will provide a market update if there is any material impact to production or assets." In January, the company revised its 2026 production guidance down to 172-186 million barrels of oil equivalent, citing downtime at the Pluto LNG facility after it achieved a record 198.8 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2025. A spokesperson for Japanese oil company Inpex said its Ichthys LNG project offshore Western Australia has not sustained damage or experienced shutdowns. Industrial chemical producer Perdaman reported that its A$6 billion (US$4.14 billion) gas-to-fertilizer plant in the Pilbara region has been shut down for two days due to the cyclone, but the project remains on track for completion by June next year. Darren Klemm, Commissioner of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services in Western Australia, said authorities are still awaiting assessments of the damage caused by the cyclone, but it is likely to be significant. In a separate development, Santos confirmed on Tuesday that its 3.7 million-tonne-per-year Darwin LNG project has been temporarily shut down. The company stated the shutdown is related to maintenance work. (As of March 27, 2026, US$1 = A$1.4510)