Chevron Corp. (CVX) has made two separate natural gas discoveries in remote waters offshore Australia , indicating the resource for its Gorgon and Wheatstone gas-export projects could be larger than it originally anticipated.

Due to their distance from the coast, however, any resources booked from the discoveries may be more expensive to develop.

The Pinhoe-1 and Arnhem-1 wells intersected separate net gas pays of 60 meters and 46 meters, respectively, Chevron said in a statement. Chevron is the second-biggest U.S. oil company behind ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM).

Pinhoe-1 was drilled in deep water about 200 kilometers offshore from Exmouth on the Western Australia coast, while Arnhem-1 was 290 meters away from Exmouth.

"These discoveries in the Exmouth area are significant as they are located farther out from other discoveries in the greater Gorgon and Wheatstone development in the Carnarvon basin and indicates development potential in the broader region," said Melody Meyer, president of Chevron's Asia Pacific Exploration and Production business.

The Gorgon and Wheatstone liquefied-natural-gas plants are currently under construction on the Western Australia coast. Chevron has said it would like to expand both facilities in phases and has been searching for more natural gas to support its expansion plans.

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