SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 2014-- Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) announced today that the Hess Corporation-operated Tubular Bells deepwater project, located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, has started crude oil and natural gas production. The field is located 135 miles (217 km) southeast of New Orleans, in approximately 4,300 feet (1,310 m) of water in the Mississippi Canyon area. The discovery well was drilled in 2003, and project construction began in October 2011.

The Tubular Bells floating production facility is a classic spar hull with traditional three-level topsides. (Photo Hess)

Tubular Bells is expected to deliver total production of approximately 50,000 barrels of oil-equivalent per day producing from three wells.

“The deepwater Gulf of Mexico plays a significant part in our earnings and production growth. Achieving first oil at Tubular Bells is an important step towards Chevron achieving its production goal of 3.1 million barrels per day by 2017,” said George Kirkland, vice chairman and executive vice president, Upstream, Chevron Corporation.

“Tubular Bells and the Chevron-operated Jack/St. Malo project further strengthens Chevron’s deepwater portfolio,” said Jay Johnson, senior vice president, Upstream, Chevron Corporation. Jack/St. Malo, a large lower Tertiary development, is scheduled to be brought online later this year.

“This project’s success is the result of our strong business relationship with Hess, reinforcing our commitment to achieve results with excellence, and enabling new opportunities in this strategic area,” said Jeff Shellebarger, president, Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company.

The Tubular Bells production facility is producing from the Miocene trend, where, for many years, Chevron subsidiaries have had multiple producing assets and a leading leaseholder position. The floating production facility is a classic spar hull with traditional three-level topsides. The field has an estimated production life of 25 years.

Chevron subsidiary Chevron U.S.A. Inc. has a 42.86 percent working interest in the Tubular Bells development and Hess is the operator with a 57.14 percent working interest in the field.

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. 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. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "targets," "forecasts," "projects," "believes," "seeks," "schedules," "estimates,"”may,””could,” "budgets," "outlook" 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 important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are changes in prices of, demand for and supply of crude oil and natural gas; actions of competitors; the inability or failure of the company's joint-venture partners to fund their share of operations and development activities; the potential failure to achieve expected net production from existing and future crude oil and natural gas development projects; potential delays in the development, construction or start-up of planned projects; the potential disruption or interruption of the company's net production or manufacturing facilities or delivery transportation networks 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; foreign currency movements compared with the U.S. dollar; and general economic and political conditions. The reader 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.

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Source: Chevron Corporation

Chevron Corporation
Cam Van Ast, +1 713-372-0063 (Houston)