Chevron evaluating gas line ownership

John Zager, Chevron’s general manager in Alaska, said June 5 that Chevron “plans to be part of” a gas pipeline project that BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil are currently trying to put together to send North Slope gas south through Alaska and Canada to Lower 48 markets.

Zager made the remarks in a speech to the annual Alaska Oil and Gas Association luncheon in Anchorage. He later told Petroleum News Chevron was looking at both shipping its natural gas through the pipeline and possibly becoming an equity owner in the line.

“As a significant North Slope gas owner Chevron plans to be a shipper on the gas pipeline and is evaluating options of becoming an equity owner in the pipeline to align pipeline ownership with shipping commitments,” he said.

Chevron is the fourth largest gas owner on the North Slope behind BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon. Its properties include 100 percent interest in more than 250,000 acres of exploration acreage in the central North Slope, 50 percent interest in leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 1002 area, and smaller interests in the Kuparuk River and Endicott fields.

Chevron has a 25 percent interest in the eastern North Slope Point Thomson field, which holds 23 percent of the discovered natural gas reserves on the slope. The company also owns approximately 1.4 percent of the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

Majority partners in Point Thomson include BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and unit operator Exxon.

—Kay Cashman