Cyclone Kara, which intensified overnight and is now packing winds of 220km per hour, has been upgraded to a severe Category 3 storm.

The storm is tracking southwest towards the Pilbara coast at 8kph. It is about 350km from the town of Karratha, the main terminal of the NWSV.

It has reportedly forced the temporary shut-in of at least 172,600 barrels per day of Australian oil, about 40% of the country’s total production.

Reuters today reported that Woodside Petroleum has closed its 100,000 barrels of oil per day Cossack Pioneer field and its nearby 7000bopd Legendre field since Sunday.

Woodside said it is monitoring the path of the cyclone before resuming production.

Santos has also reportedly suspended production at its 55,000bopd Mutineer-Exeter field since Sunday and its production vessels were expected to sail away late yesterday to avoid the storm.

BHP has also temporarily shut its 10,600bopd Griffin oil field.

“The field was shut-in yesterday and the production vessels have been disconnected,” Reuters quoted a BHP spokeswoman as saying.

The Bureau of Meteorology has said the cyclone is small but intense, mamking it erratic and hard to track. The bureau said it could not be sure where the cyclone would cross the coast, but it expected the storm to weaken.

“Recent satellite images have indicated the system is moving into a less favourable environment and weakening is anticipated over the next 12 to 36 hours,” Australian Associated Press quoted a weather bureau spokesman as saying.

“There is greater than normal uncertainty regarding the future track of Kara, especially as it begins to weaken, and communities are advised to take the large potential track forecast error into consideration.”

Cyclone Kara comes just two-and-a-half weeks after Category 4 cyclone George killed three people and shut down almost half of the Australia’s oil production.

Cyclone Isobel disrupted a number of oil, gas and inland mining operations in January.