03 Jun 2010 19:36:08 GMT
* May disrupt shipping; Oman Oil, LNG say so far unaffected
* Cyclone seen hitting southeast Oman late on Thursday
* Storm to weaken to tropical storm, head on to Pakistan
(Adds statement from Oman metereology official)
By Saleh al-Shaibany
MUSCAT, June 3 (Reuters) - Tropical Cyclone Phet hit the coast of the Gulf state of Oman on Thursday, but weakened from an ominous Category 4 storm down to a Category 2, leaving oil and liquefied natural gas production unharmed.
"So far, none of our productions or operations have been affected," said state-controlled Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>. "However, we are watching the situation very closely."
Oman produces around 850,000 barrels per day of oil, a small independent producer in a region home to some of the world's largest oil powers. Its crude is exported through the port of Mina al-Fahal, near capital Muscat to the west.
Muscat was to the east of the latest storm path forecast on Thursday, but Omani meteorologists said the capital would feel the affects of the cyclone on Friday and Saturday.
"Phet is now at Category 2 hitting Masirah Island with a wind speed of 150 km/h (93 mph) and wave heights of about 8 metres (26 feet)," Ali Yaarubi, an Omani meteorological official told Reuters.
"However, at mainland in Ras Hadd (eastern region), the wind speed is much less at 85 km/h, and we expect it to drop further on Saturday as it moves away from Oman," he said.
Oman state television said the government had ordered police and the air force to evacuate people from areas of eastern Oman.
"Hundreds of people have been evacuated, most of them from the Masirah Island," an Oman civil defence department spokesman said, adding that some of the evacuees had been taken to Muscat. "There are many more who refused to budge."
National carrier Oman Air said it had cancelled two flights so that aircraft could evacuate people from Masirah island, home to several villages and an Omani air force base.
Phet was expected to re-emerge over the north Indian Ocean as a tropical storm and march on toward Pakistan, forecaster Tropical Storm Risk said.
Pakistani authorities had already evacuated nearly 1,000 people and were on standby for more. In a worst-case scenario, up to 50,000 people could be affected on Pakistan's coast, said Pakistan Navy spokesman Commander Salman Ali in Karachi.
Phet initially had been forecast to become a Category 5 storm, the most powerful category with winds of over 156 mph.
The cyclone would steer east of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, used by ships carrying 17 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, 40 percent of all seaborne oil, and could disrupt shipping moving from the Gulf toward the Indian Ocean.
Operations at Oman LNG, the liquefied natural gas export facility, were so far unaffected, Nasser al-Kindy, head of Oman LNG corporate communications, told Reuters.
"Today, everything is okay. Oman LNG is still (in) business, production is not affected. We are monitoring the situation," Kindy said.
The three LNG production facilities, known as trains, are in Sur in the east, close to the path of the storm. They produce about 8 million tonnes of LNG per year.
The east is also home to Oman's protected green back turtle. A previous cyclone in 2007 killed at least 54 people in Oman and Iran.