Chevron abandons Great Australian Bight exploration

Chevron Australia said it has made a decision to pull out of the Great Australian Bight exploration program, due to the current low oil price environment. 

Chevron said that, although it is one of Australia’s most prospective frontier hydrocarbon regions it was not able to compete for capital in Chevron’s global portfolio.

This is a commercial decision and was not due to government policy, regulatory, community or environmental concerns, the company said.

Chevron Australia managing director Nigel Hearne said, “we have invested billions of dollars in Western Australia to commercialize our large gas resource base through the Chevron-operated Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG and domestic gas facilities and expect to be here for decades to come.”

He added that the company is looking to accelerate the commercialization of its gas resource base through non-operated LNG facilities.