Chevron Australia Pty Ltd - an affiliate of
Chevron Corporation
(
CVX
) - announced the discovery of natural gas in Kentish Knock
South-1 exploration well in the Exmouth Plateau area, offshore
Western Australia.
Located in the WA-365-P permit block in the Carnarvon Basin, the
well is estimated to hold approximately 246 feet of net gas pay
in the upper Mungaroo Sands. The well, about 173 miles to north
of Exmouth, was drilled at 3,832 feet to a total depth of 10,056
feet.
The Australian unit of Chevron acts as the chief operator of the
block with 50% interest, while the remaining stake is owned by
Royal Dutch Shell plc
(
RDS.A
).
We believe that this exploration success will boost Chevron's
growth prospects in Australia by adding to its already
significant gas interests in the country.
Earlier in December, the company announced the discovery of
natural gas in Pinhoe-1 and Arnhem-1 exploration wells in the
Exmouth Plateau area, which marked Chevron's nineteenth find in
the country since mid-2009.
We believe that successful drilling activities along with these
prominent projects will establish Chevron as a leader among
natural gas and LNG suppliers in the Asia-Pacific belt.
The company currently retains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), implying
that it is expected to perform in line with the broader U.S.
equity market over the next one to three months.
Chevron's current oil and gas development project pipeline is
among the best in the industry, targeting volume growth of 20% by
2017 - more than twice the rate of growth from 2003 to 2010. The
growth will be driven by the big Australian gas projects (Gorgon
and Wheatstone).
However, the company conducts operations in many countries. As
such, the company is exposed to risks associated with doing
business abroad. Such risks include embargoes and/or
expropriation of assets, exchange rate risks, terrorism and
political/civil sentiment, etc.
But there are certain other companies in the oil industry that
are expected to perform well in the coming one to three months.
These include
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.
(
COG
) with Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and
Total SA
(
TOT
) with Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
CABOT OIL & GAS (COG): Free Stock Analysis
Report
CHEVRON CORP (CVX): Free Stock Analysis
Report
ROYAL DTCH SH-A (RDS.A): Free Stock Analysis
Report
TOTAL FINA SA (TOT): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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