Chevron Celebrates 60 Years of Australian Operations

Chevron Australia has marked a significant historical milestone – its 60th anniversary since entering Australia’s upstream oil and gas sector.

Chevron entered Western Australia on 24 March 1952 through Caltex (owned by Texaco and Standard Oil of California which later became Chevron) joining with Ampol Petroleum to form West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd (WAPET). Just over a year later, WAPET found oil in the Carnarvon Basin.

In 1964 Chevron joined Woodside and Shell in an exploration joint venture which later became the North West Shelf Venture. Later that year, WAPET announced an oil discovery on Barrow Island.

This followed in 1967 when naturalist Harry Butler was appointed as a conservation consultant to WAPET in a pioneering move to support environmental management at Barrow Island. The first shipment of oil also left Barrow Island that year.

Roy Krzywosinski, managing director, Chevron Australia, said the anniversary was a significant milestone which highlighted the company’s long history of investment in Western Australia.

“Sixty years of operations in Australia is a remarkable milestone – today we honour and continue that tradition through the ingenuity and commitment of a talented workforce of more than 3,000 people,” Krzywosinski said.

“We are proud of our enduring partnership with Australia which in the last two-and-a-half years alone, has witnessed the go ahead of two of the largest capital projects in history in Gorgon and Wheatstone.”

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies and through its Australian subsidiaries, has been present in Australia for 60 years. With the ingenuity and commitment of about 3,000 people, Chevron Australia leads the development of the Gorgon and Wheatstone natural gas projects; manages its equal one-sixth interest in the North West Shelf Venture; and operates Australia’s largest onshore oilfield on Barrow Island and the Thevenard Island oilfields.  The company is also a participant in the Browse liquefied natural gas development and is a significant investor in exploration offshore northwest Australia.

In addition, Chevron’s Perth-based Global Technology Centre provides technology support and solutions to the company’s operations in Australia and around the world.

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LNG World News Staff, March 26, 2012