Chevron makes major gas find in Australia

U.S. supermajor Chevron said it discovered natural gas in the deep waters off the western coast of Australia, its 12th discovery there since 2009. Chevron said it discovered a natural gas pay measuring roughly 453 feet in around 4,800 feet of water off the coast of Western Australia. The well, Vos-1, was drilled to a depth of 12,461 feet. "The find at Vos-1 represents our 12th offshore discovery in Australia since mid-2009," George Kirkland, vice chairman at Chevron, said in a statement. "Our successful drilling program offshore Western Australia demonstrates Chevron's global exploration capability." In September, the Australian government issued a positive environmental assessment for the Wheatstone natural gas project. The Wheatstone project in Western Australia consists of facilities that could produce nearly 9 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year for Chevron. Chevron has agreements to deliver around 700,000 tons of liquefied natural gas per year from Australia to Japanese energy companies.