CHEVRON THAILAND

CHEVRON THAILAND AND PARTNERS GET GO-AHEAD FOR NORTH JARMJUREE PRODUCTION
This is news concerning Chevron but issued by a Chevron subsidiary, Chevron Offshore (Thailand) Ltd., and archived here for record purposes
BANGKOK, November 13, 2000 -- Chevron Offshore (Thailand) Ltd. today announced that the Government of Thailand has approved its plan for development of North Jarmjuree, a 500-square-kilometer offshore production area.
The North Jarmjuree production area (PA) lies in the Gulf of Thailand, about 125 miles offshore Bangkok in a water depth of approximately 250 feet (75 meters).
North Jarmjuree was identified as a commercial hydrocarbon production area in late 1999, following the drilling of the Jarmjuree-4 well, one of several successful exploration wells in this geologic trend. It is the fourth production area granted to the Block B8/32 concessionaires by the Thai government's Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). The DMR approved Chevron's development plan for this area earlier this year. The North Jarmjuree production area will extend production to the western edge of the B8/32 concession.
Reserve potential of Block B8/32 including the four known fields, Tantawan, Benchamas, Maliwan and North Jarmjuree, is estimated to be over 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas and 350 million barrels of oil.
Chevron, operator for Block B8/32, holds 51.66 percent interest, acquired as a result of its purchase of Rutherford Moran in 1999. The company assumed operatorship of Block B8/32 on October 1, 1999. Partners with Chevron in the prolific B8/32 concession are Thaipo, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Pogo Producing Co. (46.34 percent) and Bangkok-based Palang Sophon (2 percent).
Jay Pryor, managing director of Chevron's Thailand business unit, praised the Thai government and the DMR for its commitment to the consortium's efforts in developing Thailand's energy resources. The DMR worked closely with Chevron throughout the process in areas of geology, economics, reserves and development planning. The result was an excellent effort by both groups to understand and determine what was required to make the production area application successful.
"North Jarmjuree is our fourth success in the Gulf of Thailand, and we're optimistic that it represents the most recent in a series of future exploration and production successes," added Pryor, noting that the new area is adjacent to other "hot prospects" -- which will be the focus of the consortium's future exploration.
Current natural gas production from Block B8/32 is approximately 145 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, an increase of more than 20 percent since Chevron took over as operator of the Block in October, 1999. Crude oil production is approximately 35 thousand barrels per day, more than double the amount that was on production at the time Chevron acquired its interest.
Natural gas produced from the Block B8/32 is sold under contract to Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) and the crude oil is exported via adjacent Floating Storage facilities.
Notes to Editors:
Chevron is known for its long-term participants in regional growth opportunities. Founded in San Francisco 120 years ago, Chevron is credited with discovering oil in the Middle East in the 1920's and was the pioneering company in Kazakhstan, where it operates the Tengiz oil field with reserves estimated between 6 and 9 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Chevron is active in more than 100 countries.
A half-owner of Caltex Petroleum Corp., which is active in refining and marketing in 18 Asian nations, Chevron's Asian exploration and development roots began with the discovery of oil in Indonesia 80 years ago. The company is today seeking additional exploration and development opportunities throughout the Pacific Rim.