Chevron's history in Australia goes back decades.
At the end of World War I, one of our legacy companies, The Texas Co. Australasia Ltd., was incorporated in New South Wales to handle the growing demand for petroleum products. Since 1941, the company's marketing and refining activities in Australia have been conducted under the Caltex® brand. Our first refinery came on line in 1956.
Our exploration and production activities in Australia began in 1951 when, under the Caltex banner, Chevron and Texaco began searching for crude oil in Western Australia. In 1952, Caltex and Ampol, an Australian petroleum company, formed West Australian Petroleum Pty. Ltd. (WAPET) to operate on their behalf. This venture made the nation's first discovery, at Rough Range in Western Australia in 1953.
It was through WAPET that we discovered the Barrow Island Field in 1964, the Gorgon gas field in 1981, the Saladin oil field in 1985 and the fields near Thevenard Island in 1989.
Chevron, along with other participants in the North West Shelf Venture, began supplying domestic natural gas to customers in Western Australia in 1985. In 1989, the joint venture began exporting liquefied natural gas to neighbors in Asia, starting with Japan.
Discoveries continued with more gas fields: Chrysaor in 1994–1995, Dionysus in 1996 and more gas fields west of the central Gorgon area. There has been a long string of successful exploration wells in Australia—a total of 20 discoveries since mid-2009.
WAPET, with Chevron as technical advisor, continued as operator of the majority of the company's assets in Australia until 2000, when Chevron Australia Pty Ltd replaced WAPET. In 2001, Chevron and Texaco merged.
After extensive studies to identify the best site for the Gorgon Project, in 2003 the government of Western Australia provided in-principle approval for the Gorgon Project's onshore gas plant to be based on Barrow Island.
In 2004, the Wheatstone natural gas field was discovered, and Chevron secured a 50 percent interest across most of the Greater Gorgon Area.
Chevron made two natural gas finds in 2006. The first was at our Chandon 1 exploration well within the western reaches of the Greater Gorgon Area. Later in the year, the Clio 1 exploration well was drilled successfully.
In 2007, Chevron Energy Technology Co. opened a global technology center in Perth to provide research, development and technical services to Chevron's worldwide operations.
In 2008, we announced our intention to develop the Wheatstone gas field as an onshore liquefied natural gas and domestic gas project and identified Ashburton North, near Onslow in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, as the preferred site.
Along with our joint-venture participants, we announced a final investment decision to proceed to construction on the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects in 2009 and 2011, respectively.
Health, Environment and Safety
Chevron and Caltex Australia work hard to keep employees and those visiting our sites safe. We care for the environment, and we recognize our responsibilities to the communities where we work.
Chevron, through previous participation in WAPET and as current operator, has achieved an outstanding environmental record on Barrow Island. The island, a Class A nature reserve, is free of introduced plants and animals thanks to Chevron's successful quarantine efforts. Our environmental and quarantine-management system has earned us national and international awards.
Energy-Efficiency Assessments
The Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act of 2006 requires all large energy users in Australia to undertake an assessment to identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency and to submit an annual public report on the findings. The Barrow Island and Thevenard Island operations were assessed during 2008, and the latest Public Assessment Report (1.8 MB) is available.
Awards and Recognition
In March 2012, Chevron Australia marked a significant historical milestone—its 60th anniversary since entering Australia's upstream oil and gas sector.
Also in 2012, Chevron Australia was recognized for its excellence in environmental management by the United Nations Association of Australia at its 2012 World Environment Awards. And in June 2012, conservationist Dr. Harry Butler was appointed an officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia. Butler has a long association with our company as an environmental consultant.
Updated: April 2013
Cautionary Statement