Chevron reveals extensive cyclone damage at Wheatstone

American petroleum giant Chevron has provided critical updates regarding the extensive damage sustained at the Wheatstone LNG plant following the passage of Cyclone Narelle.

The devastating storm, which tore through Western Australia’s resource-rich northwest last week, forced major facilities, including Woodside’s (ASX:WDS) North West Shelf and Chevron’s Wheatstone offline.

According to data from consultancy EnergyQuest, the regional shutdown momentarily placed approximately 8% of the global liquefied natural gas supply at risk, sending ripples through international energy markets.

The outage arrives at a precarious moment for global energy security.

Shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have slowed due to escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, leaving buyers scrambling for alternative sources.

While Wheatstone's domestic gas facility is slated for a staggered restart within the coming days, the multi-billion-dollar export plant faces a much longer road to recovery.

A Chevron spokesperson confirmed that while teams have safely returned to the offshore platform to commence feed gas flow, the onshore infrastructure remains compromised.

"The most significant damage is to the air-cooled heat exchangers, known as fin fans," the spokesperson noted, indicating that repairs to the US$34 billion asset—jointly owned by KUFPEC, Kyushu Electric, and JERA—will likely take weeks.

The delay is particularly impactful for Japan, which received 10 of Wheatstone's 11 cargoes in February.