Chevron Begins Construction of U.S. Gulf of Mexico Energy Project
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$3.5 Billion Project Anticipated to Add Significant New Oil & Gas Production
Capacity to be 125,000 Barrels Per Day of Oil and 70 Million Cubic Feet Per Day of Natural Gas
First Production Expected by Mid-2008
SAN RAMON, Calif., Nov. 7 -- Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) today announced that it has begun construction of the floating production facility to be installed in the Tahiti Field which is expected to achieve first production by mid-2008. The field, located in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico approximately 190 miles south of New Orleans, will be developed from two subsea drill centers producing to a floating production facility supported by a truss spar.
Tahiti is designed to have a daily production capacity of 125,000 barrels of crude oil and 70 million cubic feet of natural gas, and will be developed in phases. The first phase of development was fully sanctioned in August 2005 by Tahiti joint venture partners Chevron, Statoil and Shell at a cost of more than $1.8 billion. Total capital costs for the project are anticipated to be approximately $3.5 billion. Chevron is the operator and holds a 58 percent working interest. Statoil holds a 25 percent interest, and Shell holds a 17 percent interest.
"Tahiti is one of Chevron's top five projects, and it demonstrates our focus on investing in the development of world class energy supplies," said George Kirkland, Chevron Corporation's executive vice president, Upstream and Gas. "It is an example of our ability to advance significant capital projects in areas where we are well positioned for future growth."
Added Ray Wilcox, Chevron's North America Exploration and Production Company president, "This project is a key asset in our expanding deepwater portfolio and is expected to add significant new crude oil and natural gas resources in the Gulf of Mexico."
Fabrication of the Tahiti hull and mooring systems is being performed by Technip at their yard in Pori, Finland. A construction milestone for the project was achieved with the first cutting of steel for the hull on October 16, one day ahead of schedule. Two days later on October 18, and one month ahead of schedule, steel cutting began for the topsides facility modules that are being fabricated by Technip subsidiary Gulf Marine Fabricators at their yard near Corpus Christi, Texas. The spar hull is expected to be delivered to the Gulf of Mexico by mid- 2007, with topsides fabrication planned to be completed in that same time frame.
One of the Gulf's largest deepwater discoveries, the Tahiti Field is in 4,000 feet of water and is believed to hold 400 million to 500 million-barrels of oil-equivalent that are potentially recoverable.
Chevron is the largest overall leaseholder in the Gulf of Mexico and one of the world's leading energy companies. With more than 53,000 employees, Chevron subsidiaries conduct business in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas, and refining, marketing, and distributing fuels and other energy products. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information on Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.
Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information for the Purpose of "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some of the items discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements about construction at the Tahiti Field in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Words such as "expected" "planned" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The statements are based upon management's current expectations, estimates, and projections; are not guarantees of future performance; and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the company's control and are difficult to predict. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are unknown or unexpected problems in the resumptions of operations affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and other severe weather in the Gulf of Mexico; changes in the demand for and supply of crude oil and natural gas; actions of competitors; the potential disruption or interruption of project activities, due to war, accidents, political events, civil unrest or severe weather; inability or failure of the company's joint- venture partners to fund their share of project expenditures; and general economic and political conditions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of the press release. Unless legally required, Chevron undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules permit oil and gas companies to disclose only proved reserves in their filings with the SEC. Certain terms and phrases, such as "resources," "recoverable resources," or "barrels of oil-equivalent that are potentially recoverable" and others are used in this press release that may not be permitted to be included in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors should refer to disclosures in Chevron's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004.
CONTACT: Mickey Driver of Chevron, +1-832-854-6640
Web site: www.chevron.com/
