ChevronTexaco hits ‘significant’ discovery

Ray Tyson

ChevronTexaco said it made a significant natural gas discovery at its Wheatstone-1 well, located offshore 110 miles west-northwest of Dampier in Western Australia.

A production test established a flow rate of 54 million cubic feet of gas per day, the company said Aug. 24.The lease is held 100 percent by ChevronTexaco affiliates ChevronTexaco Australia and Texaco Australia. The Wheatstone Field extends north into an adjacent permit where ChevronTexaco affiliates also hold a 100 percent interest.“The discovery further confirms the world-class gas resources offshore Western Australia and is the latest step in our ongoing efforts to explore and develop Australia’s gas resources,” said Jay Johnson, managing director of ChevronTexaco Australia.

The Wheatstone-1 well was spud July 23 and drilled to a vertical depth of 11,096 feet using the semi-submersible Transocean Sedco 703 drilling rig in water depths of about 700 feet. The well encountered roughly 175 feet of net gas sands in the Jurassic Tithionian and Triassic Mungaroo AA sands within a 413-foot hydrocarbon column, ChevronTexaco said.