Nexus stopped drilling its Crux-2 appraisal well, in Browse Basin permit AC/P23, last Wednesday when Category 2 Tropical Cyclone George "came within a range that may have caused a threat to the safety of the rig and personnel."

The company started re-manning the rig this morning, where it plans to re-enter the well and drill ahead to intersect the ‘A’ and ‘B’ reservoir sections encountered in the exploration well.

AED Oil also started re-manning the Stena Clyde drill rig this morning and expects to resume drilling of its Puffin-8 development well in AC/P22 tomorrow. The disruption was not expected to impact the overall project schedule, it said.

Category 2 George is the first tropical cyclone of the Western Australia season and the Bureau of Meteorology expects it will develop into a severe storm in the next couple of days.

“Tropical cyclone George is continuing to intensify as it moves westwards away from the Kimberley coast,” the bureau said.

The WA cyclone season runs between November and April, with most activity in the latter half.