PERTH, 10 JULY, 2008 - Chevron Australia today announced a significant extension of the Chevron-operated Iago gas field located 80 miles (130 kilometers) offshore northwestern Australia in permit WA-16-R.
The Iago-2 well was drilled using Diamond Offshore's semi-submersible drilling rig Ocean Bounty in water depths of approximately 384 feet (117 meters). The well discovered 154 feet (47 meters) of net pay in sands of the Triassic Mungaroo Formation, confirming a southerly extension of the Iago Field into a previously untested reservoir compartment. A subsequent Drill Stem Test over a 105 foot (32 meters) interval flowed at a rate of 53 million cubic feet per day.
Roy Krzywosinski, Managing Director of Chevron Australia, said, "Chevron continues to make significant multi-million dollar investments that are expected to help discover, develop and commercialise Australia's gas resources. The recent success with Iago-2, its relatively shallow water location and proximity to the nearby Wheatstone gas resource, will offer some exciting future development options for Iago."
Krzywosinski added, "We continue to progress a multi-train Wheatstone LNG and domestic gas development with a view to entering the front-end engineering and design phase next year for a green field mainland gas facility."
The Iago resource spans two retention permits, WA-17-R, which is wholly owned by Chevron Australia, and WA-16-R, in which Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd has a one-third share with Chevron holding the remainder. The Iago field was discovered in 2000 with the Iago-1 exploration well.
Through its Australian subsidiary, Chevron has been present in Australia for more than 50 years. It operates the planned Gorgon and Wheatstone Projects, the Barrow Island and Thevenard Island oilfields and is a foundation partner in the North West Shelf Venture (natural gas, crude oil and condensate) and in the Browse LNG development. Chevron Australia is a significant investor in offshore north-western Australia exploration, one of Chevron's four global focus areas for exploration.
In addition, Chevron operates a Global Technology Centre in Perth, Western Australia, that provides technology support and solutions to the company's operations throughout the Asia Pacific. Chevron works with Western Australian universities and the Australian government's scientific and industrial research organization in the Western Australian Energy Research Alliance and recently launched a research partnership with the University of Western Australia.
Chevron Corporation is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business across the globe. The company's success is driven by the ingenuity and commitment of approximately 59,000 employees who operate across the energy spectrum. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and other energy products; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops and commercializes the energy resources of the future, including biofuels and other renewables. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at 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," "budgets" 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 prices of, demand for and supply of crude oil and natural gas; actions of competitors; timely development of the field; the potential disruption or interruption of production and development activities due to war, accidents, political events, civil unrest, or severe weather; government-mandated sales, divestitures, recapitalizations and changes in fiscal terms or restrictions on scope of company operations; 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.