Chevron declares gas find in Australia

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SAN RAMON, Calif., July 24 (UPI) -- U.S. supermajor Chevron announced it made a discovery of natural gas in the Carnarvon Basin off the coast of Western Australia.

Chevron's subsidiary in Australia encountered around 97 feet of net natural gas pay in the Pontus-1 exploration well in the Greater Gorgon Area of the Carnarvon Basin.

The Gorgon Project discovery well was drilled in 690 feet of water to a depth of 16,581 feet.

Chevronsaid the discovery marks its 14th natural gas find off the Australian coast since 2009.

"The Pontus-1 discovery again highlights Chevron's exploration success as we continue building a significant natural gas position in Western Australia to supply Australia and the Asia-Pacific region," Chevron Corp. Vice Chairman George Kirkland said in a statement.

Chevron last month signed a liquefied natural gas deal with Tokyo Electric Power Co. Tepco is to get 400,000 tons of liquefied natural gas a year from the Wheatstone project in Australia, bringing its total uptake to 4.2 tons per year under the terms of a 20-year agreement.