Exploration and Production
Chevron has a long, impressive record of developing oil and gas in the Middle East, dating back to our earliest discovery in Bahrain in 1932.
Chevron is the operator of a consortium competing to develop Kuwait's northern fields. In 2008 and into 2009, the company continued dialogue with the Kuwaiti government about plans for this development, known as Project Kuwait.
In 1994, Chevron reentered Kuwait through a technical service agreement for the Burgan Field. Chevron elected not to extend that agreement when it expired in August 2008.
Saudi Arabian Chevron and companies that later became part of Chevron have been producing oil on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the onshore Partitioned Neutral Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia since 1949. A 30-year extension of the operating agreement governing this arrangement was granted in early 2009.
During 2008, 87 wells were drilled in the Partitioned Neutral Zone (PNZ), bringing the 2008 year-end active well count to 976.
In June 2009, Chevron achieved the first steam injection at its Large Scale Pilot steamflood project at the Wafra Field in the onshore PNZ. The project is designed to determine the technical and economic viability of thermal-recovery projects in the Eocene heavy-oil carbonate reservoir.
Steamflooding involves injecting steam into heavy oil reservoirs to heat the crude oil underground, reducing its viscosity and allowing its extraction through wells. This phase of the project involves drilling 16 injection wells, 25 producing wells and 16 observation wells and installing water treatment and steam generation and distribution facilities.
The $340 million pilot, which is the final test phase for the steamflood project, is expected to lead to full-field steamflooding of the First Eocene reservoir, marking the first commercial application of a conventional steamflood in a carbonate reservoir anywhere in the world.
Refining
Chevron employees have been consulting at Kuwait's Shuaiba, Mina Abdullah and Mina Al-Ahmadi refineries under an agreement with the Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC). That agreement was extended in 2008.
Chevron licenses refining technology and supplies catalysts to KNPC refineries through our subsidiaries Advanced Refining Technologies LLC and Chevron Lummus Global LLC.
Shipping
Saudi Arabian Chevron (SAC) operates a storage and marine export facility at Mina Saud in the PNZ.
In 2008, we marked our sixth consecutive year with no reductions or delays in scheduled tanker loading, lost-time incidents or spillage attributable to SAC operations. A total of 77 tankers were loaded at the company's crude-oil shipping terminals, handling a volume of more than 47 million barrels of Ratawi and Eocene crude.
Updated: July 2009