Chevron Announces Significant Gas Field Extension in Australia

PERTH.- 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.