Chevron Corp. (CVX) unveiled another natural-gas
discovery in the Gorgon area off the coast of Australia, adding to signs that
the oil major may be able to expand its liquefied-natural gas project in the
region.
Chevron, the world's second-largest U.S. oil and gas producer by market value
after Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), said the discovery was its 15th in Australia
since mid-2009.
The discovery well, located about 75 miles northwest of Barrow Island off the
Western Australia coast, confirmed about 128 feet of net gas pay.
Such discoveries bode well for Chevron, the operator of the Gorgon natural-gas
project, the biggest among nearly a dozen terminals under construction or
planned along Australia's coastline that aim to ship liquefied natural gas to
Asian countries.
A string of gas discoveries off the Western Australia coast over the past two
years has boosted confidence that Chevron can expand the Gorgon project beyond
its initial annual output capacity of 15.6 million metric tons of LNG.
Chevron has a 50% interest in the permit area where the discovery is located. Exxon
Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB) each have a 25% interest.
Shares were down 43 cents at $116.54 in recent premarket trading.