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SYDNEY (Dow Jones Newswires), Feb. 27, 2009

Apache Energy Corp. Friday said that it has ceased production at its Stag and Legendre oil and condensate operations in offshore Western Australia because of bad weather conditions.

All non-essential staff are being evacuated from the Varanus Island gas processing plant, but production is continuing as normal, Apache said.

Staff are in the process of being evacuated from Stag and Legendre.

"A cyclone hasn't been called, it's a tropical low, but it's a matter of standard operating procedure," a spokesman for Apache said.

Spokesmen for BHP Billiton Ltd. and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. both said the companies hadn't evacuated any staff but were monitoring the situation.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said the low pressure system may develop into a tropical cyclone Saturday as it moves to the southwest towards the Pilbara coast.  

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