US super-major Chevron (NYSE:CVX) has discovered natural gas with the Clio-3 in the deepwaters of the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia.
Drilled in the WA-205-P permit area, about 90 miles northwest of Onslow, the Clio-3 discovery is situated in 3,186 feet of water. Drilled to a total depth of 14,137 feet, the Clio-3 discovery well encountered approximately 260 feet of net gas pay. This is the third consecutive discovery on the Clio structure.
The discovery will continue to be tested and data gathered from the well, with additional work required to determine the extent and commerciality of the find.
Chevron is the operator of WA-205-P with 66.66 percent interest. Shell holds the remaining 33.33 percent working interest in the block. Chevron is the leading lease holder in the Carnarvon Basin, the premier hydrocarbon basin offshore Australia.
“Western Australia will play a key role in our long-term plans to build a leading natural gas business to supply energy safely and reliably to Australia and the Asia-Pacific,” said Jim Blackwell, president of Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Co. “We expect this discovery, together with our previous discoveries in this permit area, to underpin expansion opportunities at the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas hub.”
Based on its world-class Wheatstone discovery from 2004, Chevron announced in 2008 that it would develop the Wheatstone LNG project on the northwest coast of Australia. With a final investment decision planned for 2011, the initial phase of the Wheatstone LNG plant will have a capacity to process 8.6 MTPA of LNG and include a domestic gas plant.
Chevron is also the operator of the Gorgon LNG plant, also in Western Australia. For an estimated cost of $37 billion, the first phase of the Gorgon LNG project is expected to come online in 2014.
