Chevron Australia has been awarded the exploration rights to a new offshore block in the Carnarvon Basin off the northwest coast of Australia.
Chevron will operate the block, in the highly prospective Greater Gorgon area, and hold a 50 per cent interest, while Shell Development Australia and ExxonMobil each will hold a 25 per cent interest in the block.
The permit area covers an area of 2,650 square kilometers in Australia's premier petroleum basin.
Jay Johnson, managing director of Chevron Australia Pty Ltd, said that the acreage, which is adjacent to the gas fields of the Chevron-led Gorgon Project, significantly expands the company's interests in offshore Western Australia.
"It reinforces the prominence of Australia in Chevron's overall exploration and development plans. The work to support this bid reflects the advancement in our technical understanding of the complex geology of this basin," he said.
The three-year work program for the permit area includes geotechnical studies, 2-D seismic reprocessing, 3-D seismic survey acquisition and the drilling of two exploration wells.
Seismic work will begin this year and depending on results there is potential for a further three-year work program.
