A tourist in Perth observes the Coral Sea before the arrival of Cyclone Narelle in Port Douglas, Queensland, on Thursday, March 19, 2026. Photo AAP/Brian Cassey / Reuters
A monster. The tropical cyclone Narelle is sweeping the northwest coast of Western Australia on Friday, March 27, bringing gusts of over 220 km/h, strong enough to shake buildings. This extreme event has also caused power outages in three of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas production sites, amid a severe hydrocarbon crisis linked to the war in the Middle East.
Narelle is considered the worst cyclone in Australia in over twenty years since Ingrid in 2005, due to its longevity and trajectory with multiple impacts. Record temperatures recorded in the Coral Sea, higher than normal, during Narelle’s passage contributed to the rapid intensification of the cyclone.
Categorized as a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which goes up to 5, the cyclone could circle Australia within a few days. The Guardian has posted a map online to track Narelle’s exceptional trajectory, which hit the far north of Queensland last week before crossing the Northern Territory and continuing westward towards the Indian Ocean.
Dependent countries on Australian LNG
The cyclone has not finished its course yet, and the damages they cause are already enormous: hundreds of homes have been flooded by torrential rains, fifty schools have been closed, and power outages are in the dozens.
Thursday afternoon, power outages specifically affected three vast liquefied natural gas (LNG) production sites. Two sites operated by Chevron, Gorgon and Wheatstone, supply approximately 5% of the world’s LNG according to the company. The third site, Woodside’s Karratha plant, processes gas from one of the world’s largest offshore gas fields.
“This disruption” comes “at the worst time” as it further reduces fuel supplies already strained by the Middle East war and “does little to reassure LNG importers about the reliability of supply,” said Josh Runciman, a gas industry analyst with AFP.
LNG prices in some Asian countries heavily reliant on fuel imports, including from Australia, have more than doubled since the start of the conflict on February 28. For example, 40% of Japan’s LNG comes from Australia, according to the Asian Natural Gas and Energy Association. Qatar, a major LNG exporter behind the United States, has seen its exports plummet due to the conflict, with tankers avoiding the closed Strait of Hormuz.
Australian exports “more essential than ever”
US President Donald Trump partially calmed energy markets on Thursday after announcing a second extension of the deadline for Iran to reopen the strategic maritime passage. But on Friday, they remain wary, with North Sea Brent oil barrels still exceeding $100.
The director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, had stated that Australian LNG exports had become “more essential than ever.” “But Australia alone cannot compensate for the entirety of the LNG shortfall from the Middle East,” he clarified during a visit to Canberra earlier in the week.
While LNG industry profits are expected to increase in the wake of the crisis, Australian media reported that Australia is considering introducing a new tax on exceptional profits from exporters.
