SAN RAMON, Calif., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chevron Corporation today announced that its subsidiary Chevron Australia Pty Ltd has been awarded the exploration rights to acreage in the highly prospective Greater Gorgon Area located off the northwest coast of Australia.
Chevron Australia will be the operator of the block and will hold a 50 percent interest; the Australian subsidiaries of ExxonMobil and Shell will each hold a 25 percent interest.
"This award demonstrates progress on Chevron's strategy to achieve superior exploratory success from a focused, high-impact exploration program," said John Watson, president, Chevron International Exploration and Production. "Australia continues to feature prominently in our plans to build an internationally competitive natural gas business to supply energy to both the country and other regions around the world."
Jay Johnson, managing director, Chevron Australia Pty Ltd, added, "Awarding of this acreage highlights Chevron's significant and continuing exploration and development investment aimed at unlocking Australia's gas resources."
The W06-12 permit area in the Carnarvon Basin covers an area of approximately 1,150 square miles (3,000 square kilometers) and lies approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of the Australian coastline. The Carnarvon Basin, Australia's premier petroleum basin, includes both the North West Shelf and Greater Gorgon Area resources.
The three-year work program for the permit area includes geotechnical studies, approximately 110 miles (180 kilometers) of 2-D seismic reprocessing, 650 square miles (1,700 square kilometers) of 3-D seismic survey acquisition and the drilling of an exploration well. Seismic work will begin this year. There is potential for a further three-year work program.
Headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, Chevron Australia is operator and 50 percent joint-venture participant in the Gorgon Project, joint-venture participant in the North West Shelf Venture, operator and joint venture-participant in the Barrow Island and Thevenard Island oil fields, and operator of significant exploration acreage located off the northwest coast of Australia.
Chevron Corporation is one of the world's leading energy companies. With more than 55,000 employees, Chevron subsidiaries conduct business in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas, and refining, marketing and distributing fuels and other energy products. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information on Chevron is available at http://www.chevron.com/.
Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information for the Purpose of "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Some of the items discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements about Chevron's activities in Australia. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "targets," "projects," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The statements are based upon management's current expectations, estimates and projections; are not guarantees of future performance; and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the company's control and are difficult to predict. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are changes in demand for and supply of crude oil and natural gas; results of additional testing; selection and successful execution of development plans; actions of competitors; the potential disruption or interruption of project activities due to war, accidents, political events, civil unrest or severe weather; and general economic and political conditions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Unless legally required, Chevron undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
