Chevron resuming Australia oil output after cyclone

SYDNEY, Feb 19 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday it was resuming production at its oil fields off northwest Australia after a cyclone threat passed, but over 200,000 barrels per day of output from other producers remained shut in.

"Operations are resuming at Barrow and Thevenard Islands, the workforce returned and full production is expected to be underway by the end of the day," said Scott Walker, a Chevron spokesman from Australia, in an e-mailed statement.

Combined production from the fields is 9,000 barrels a day, Chevron said.

About 220,000 barrels per day of oil production was shut in over the weekend after operators, including Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Apache Corp (APA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and AED Oil Ltd (AED.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), shut their offshore operations due to a powerful cyclone off the Western Australia coast.

BHP said on Wednesday its 80,000 barrel per day (bpd) Stybarrow and approximate 8,000 bpd Griffin oil fields were still shut, though its iron ore operations in the Port Hedland area were continuing for now. Woodside has a 50 percent stake in the Stybarrow field.

Woodside, which halted production to the 74,000 bpd Cossack Pioneer and the 30,000 bpd Enfield oil fields, said production vessels for the two fields were still disconnected.

"We will seek to reconnect and resume production as soon as the sea conditions allow it," Woodside's spokesman Roger Martin said in an e-mailed statement.

Junior producer Tap Oil Ltd (TAP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said production from its Woollybutt field would be suspended until the threat of cyclone subsides.

Apache Corp and oil minnow AED Oil Ltd were not immediately available for comment. Apache operates the Stag and Legendre fields off Western Australia, which have total output of 15,700 bpd, while AED operates the 6,000-10,000 bpd Puffin field in the nearby Timor Sea.

Cyclone Nicholas, a category two cyclone, was packing winds of up to 150 kilometres (93 miles) an hour and moving south across the Exmouth region on Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on its Web site, but heading away from the main oilfields. (Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by James Thornhill)