NEW ORLEANS, April 15 -- ChevronTexaco (NYSE: CVX) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Chevron U.S.A. Inc. has awarded two major engineering contracts for the development of the Tahiti Project's subsea systems and floating production facility, to be located in Green Canyon 640, 641 and 596, approximately 190 miles southwest of New Orleans.
Under the agreement, Technip Offshore, Inc. will perform front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the proposed truss spar floating production facility concept. Mustang Engineering will perform FEED for the Tahiti topsides oil and gas processing facilities. Construction contracts are expected to be awarded in the second quarter of 2005.
"We are pleased to announce these key contract awards that move our Tahiti Project closer to first production," said Ray Wilcox, vice president of ChevronTexaco Corp. and president of ChevronTexaco Exploration and Production Co. "Tahiti is a significant component of ChevronTexaco's upstream growth strategy. It will also add considerably to our Gulf of Mexico deepwater portfolio."
The Tahiti Field will be developed from two subsea drill centers located near the two Tahiti appraisal wells located in Green Canyon 596 & 640, completed in early 2003. One of the wells encountered more than 1,000 feet of net pay, one of the most significant net pay accumulations in the history of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
"We are pleased with the progress made to date in assessing the resource potential, evaluating development alternatives and awarding contracts for the Tahiti Project," said Kathleen Arthur, vice president of ChevronTexaco's Gulf of Mexico deepwater business unit. "Working together with joint-venture partners, considerable work has been completed; however, much work remains to finalize the field development plans."
Next steps for the project include front-end engineering and additional technical and commercial assessments. A production test of the discovery well and front-end engineering are scheduled to begin the second quarter of 2004.
ChevronTexaco is the operator of the Tahiti Project with 58 percent working interest. Tahiti partners are EnCana Gulf of Mexico LLC (25 percent work interest) and Shell Exploration & Production Company (17 percent working interest).
About ChevronTexaco
Currently celebrating its 125th anniversary, ChevronTexaco is the second- largest U.S.-based energy company and the fifth largest in the world, based on market capitalization. More than 50,000 ChevronTexaco employees work in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas, and marketing and distributing fuels and other energy products. ChevronTexaco is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information is at www.chevrontexaco.com.
About Technip Offshore, Inc.
Technip Offshore Inc. is part of the Technip group which offers a complete range of deepwater production facilities (Spar, FPSO, TLP, semi-sub) and leading edge subsea technical expertise in moorings, pipeline-riser-umbilical systems and robotics. These core skills are supported by strong engineering and project management capabilities, state of the art industrial assets and the most advanced fleet of subsea construction and installation vessels.
About Mustang Engineering
Mustang Engineering, a Wood Group company, is an independent services provider to the domestic and international oil, gas, and chemical industries. Mustang is the market leader worldwide in the engineering design of deepwater facilities and has been involved in over half of the deepwater facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, Mustang has provided services for numerous tiebacks, revamps and modification projects on the Gulf of Mexico shelf.
Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information for the Purpose of "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of l995.
Some of the items discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements about the development of the Tahiti Project and its significance to ChevronTexaco's exploratory drilling and plans for production of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico Deep Water. 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 prices of crude oil and natural gas, the results of evaluation of additional testing, results of evaluation of development alternatives, local political events and general economic 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, ChevronTexaco undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE ChevronTexaco