Chevron plans to search for gas in Saudi-Kuwait border

Chevron Corp, the second-largest US energy company, plans to start looking for natural gas in the Saudi Arabia-Kuwait border area and expand exploration in the Arabian Gulf.

“We’ve a big interest in expanding gas exploration in the region,” Gary Greaser, an assistant to the Chevron president, said in an interview in Riyadh Wednesday. “Everyone wants gas, everyone needs gas.”

San Ramon, California-based Chevron will start gas exploration in the so-called Neutral Zone shared between the two countries as it has a 30-year agreement to develop it on behalf of Saudi Arabia, which is seeking new gas supplies to feed growing demand for electricity. The company then plans to explore for gas in Iraq and Qatar, Greaser said.

“We’ve a 3D seismic survey plant still in its final stages of agreements and we should have that done shortly,” Greaser said. “Once we’ve that in place we will start aggressive gas exploration.”

Finding gas in the shared zone will also help Chevron unlock oil deposits at two of the three reservoirs at the Saudi- Kuwaiti Wafra field in which it operates, Greaser said.

“There is around 23 billion barrels in place at Wafra, and without steam we will recover less than five percent of that,” he said.

Chevron began injecting steam into one of the two oil reservoirs at the Saudi-Kuwaiti Wafra field in June 2009 to force more crude out of it.

Chevron has an operating agreement with Saudi Arabia to unlock the oil deposits at the Wafra field on the kingdom’s behalf through its subsidiary Saudi Arabian Chevron. The agreement was extended and amended last year until 2039. (Bloomberg)