Monica had been expected to move across Darwin and the Tiwi Islands today as a category five cyclone but was downgraded this morning as it travelled further south and inland than had been forecast.

The storm forced AED Oil to stop drilling its Puffin-7 development well in Timor Sea permit AC/P22 yesterday.

AED said it was securing the Stena Clyde drilling rig in preparation for rough seas and harsh weather caused by the storm.

Depending on the weather, the Melbourne-based company said it expected rig operations to restart toward the end of the week.

ConocoPhillips, which operates the $A3.3 billion Bayu-Undan natural gas project, including offshore gas liquids production and the onshore liquefied natural gas plant in Darwin, said in a statement yesterday it was closely monitoring Cyclone Monica and was “taking all appropriate precautions”.

The company could not comment on day-to-day operations at the venture, it said. Santos and Eni SpA also have stakes in the Darwin plant, which started production last quarter.

Meanwhile, a Port of Darwin spokesperson told AAP that berthing operations at the port, which handles LNG exports, were expected to be suspended this morning.

Monica had been a category five cyclone with winds of up to 350kph near its core when it arrived at Maningrida, in the Northern Territory’s far north, around 7pm (CST) yesterday.

At 4am (CST) this morning, Monica was located over land about 15km west south-west of Jabiru and 200km east of Darwin, moving west south-west at 20kph.

Destructive winds with gusts to 125kph were being experienced near Jabiru and were expected to hit the Darwin-Daly area later this morning.