Cyclone buffets Oman, disrupts oil, gas exports

Dubai, June 6: A powerful cyclone skirted the coast of Oman today, disrupting oil and gas exports and pushing oil above 70 dollars but the storm appeared to be weakening and moving north through a major shipping channel towards Iran.

Tropical Cyclone Gonu, which earlier reached the level of a maximum-force Category Five hurricane, was the strongest to reach Oman's coast since 1977, the Omani weather service told Reuters, with strong winds and heavy rains pummelling the coast and forcing thousands from their homes.

But the U S military's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre said the storm had weakened to maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, making it a Category Two hurricane. The centre of the storm was now expected to hit land in southeastern Iran, possibly disrupting shipping through the Gulf, a major oil export route.

The storm had been expected to sweep north along the coast of Oman, damaging energy facilities and property.

The Sur export terminal, which handles 10 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas exports, would be closed for at least 48 hours, a shipper said. Sultan Qaboos port, which handles vehicles and containers, was also closed.

The Mina al Fahal oil terminal, the only outlet for Oman's 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil production, closed during the day as storms hit the area.

Oil official Rashid al-Barwani said it had since reopened and delays would be short-lived as the storm appeared to be weakening, but shippers said the conditions were not suitable for loading and there was no activity at the terminal.

Oman suspended production at the Mukhaizna oil field, with an estimated output of about 10,000 bpd, but it may resume tomorrow, Nasser bin Khamis al Jashmi, undersecretary at the oil ministry, told state television.

Oman's stock exchange is closing along with all private and public institutions until Saturday, while the national carrier Oman Air stopped all flights from 2130 IST.

Ziad Karim al-Haremi, chief executive of the Oman Aviation Services , Oman Air's parent, said it would move its planes outside the country or to safer areas in the southwest.

''We think it would be safer not to have our aircraft in the sultanate,'' he told the state television.

Oil Prices

Oil has risen above 70 dollars since yesterday due to the storm in the Gulf, source of about 20 per cent of the world's oil supply.

Oman's position at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman made it particularly vulnerable, but southern Iran is also exposed.

The Weather Channel (www.weatherchannel.com) said Gonu was continuing to move towards the Gulf of Oman, packing winds of 145 mph but was forecast to stay just off Oman, then approach southeastern Iran on Wednesday with winds around 105 mph.

Gonu peaked at 160 mph, and has been slowly weakening since late on Monday, it said.

To the more sheltered west of Oman, the world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, said its main oil region was safe.

Saudi Aramco, the country's production arm, said it did not expect its offshore facilities in the Gulf to be affected but was monitoring the storm and had prepared an emergency plan for on and offshore installations.

''The storm is still far from the shore of the Eastern province,'' Aramco spokesman Ziad al-Shiha said, referring to the area where most Saudi oil installations are located.

Kuwait's oil refining company said everything was working as normal there. Two shipping agents in the UAE said yesterday no warning had been issued there. Operations on its eastern port of Fujairah were continuing as normal.

The weather centre of the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, an OPEC oil exporter, said the cyclone was expected to bring rain tomorrow with clouds emerging over its eastern coast.

''Its full strength will become apparent in the next 24 hours. In 2002, we had a similar storm. They happen in the area from mid-May to the end of June,'' Salama Hashshad, an official at the Central Forecasting Unit told Reuters.

Oman's state media had earlier said thousands of people were evacuated from the Masirah Island in the Arabian Sea but an Omani disaster relief official told Reuters that the cyclone had changed direction leaving the island unharmed.

Oman's official television station urged people to stay in their homes or go to buildings that could withstand strong winds, to avoid highways and to turn off electricity.

Reuters >