Cyclone Veronica makes her presence felt in Pilbara resources sector
Pilbara mining, oil and gas companies have begun assessing damage to operations and share prices in the wake of Cyclone Veronica over the weekend.
The red alert for Port Hedland was lifted on Monday as the cyclone weakened to a category two system and turned south west toward Karratha.
Most companies with operations in the path of the cyclone shut them down fully or partially as Veronica whipped the coast.
BHP shut down operations around Port Hedland while Woodside evacuated personnel from its offshore platforms. The Karratha Gas Plant and Pluto LNG plant was staffed with essential staff only.
Rio Tinto's Robe Valley and rail operations in the region's west remained closed. The Pilbara Ports Authority ordered the ports be cleared on Friday and they have been closed since.
Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said the shipping disruption estimate was between 1.5 to 2 million tonnes, if the port reopened in the next 24 hours.
"Once we have had an opportunity to fully assess the situation we will determine our ability to mitigate and offset this impact," she said.
A BHP spokeswoman said since the Port Hedland red alert had been lifted they had deployed emergency services officers to site to assess overall site impacts.
"Once they have declared the site safe BHP will send out area owners to begin their assessment on any damages to operations," she said.
"Initial inspections show water damage to some buildings at Nelson Point and we are currently working through this situation."
She said any impact to production would be reported in the next operational review.
A Woodside spokeswoman said once the immediate risks have passed Woodside would look at the safe return to full operations of its production facilities.
A Rio Tinto spokesman said to date, no injuries to employees had been reported and some rail and mining operations had been impacted.
Argonaut Securities metals and mining analyst James Wilson expected the iron ore price, already buoyed by restrictions in Brazil following the dam disaster, to be boosted as a result of cyclone shutdowns.
He said any supply constrictions to China would underpin the boost.
Mr Wilson said while the severity and paths of cyclones in WA's north west were unpredictable their occurrence was not and most companies were well prepared for them.
"We've learnt the hard way, most of the operations in the Pilbara would be very prepared for this type of thing," he said.
Most resource companies with operations in the Pilbara took a hit on the ASX this morning.
Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) took a 10 cent hit at the start of trading to $6.48 but had recovered to $6.56 just after lunch.
Woodside (ASX:WPL) has dropped 3 per cent to $34.73 while BHP (ASX:BHP) shaved off 66 cents to a low of $36.92.
Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) lost $1.63 to hit a low of $92.47 but has been slowly recovering.