KEY POINTS
- Chevron plans to grow its LNG portfolio, eyeing Argentina, the East Mediterranean, Australia and Africa as buyers prioritise energy security after the Ukraine and Iran shocks.
- Its LNG capacity is set to reach about 20 million tonnes a year, 16 million from its own projects and 4 million contracted from the US Gulf Coast.
- Growth competes for capital with a $7 billion-plus Venezuela oil plan, while Chevron courts an India deal despite the market’s price sensitivity.
Chevron is looking to expand its global gas portfolio from Argentina to the Mediterranean to meet rising demand from buyers worried about energy security amid the Middle East crisis, Global Gas president Freeman Shaheen said.
The push reflects hard lessons from recent shocks. Specifically, global gas markets have suffered two major disruptions in four years, as the 2022 Ukraine war and this year’s Iran conflict cut supplies from top producers Russia and Qatar and drove LNG prices higher. Consequently, Shaheen said the crisis reinforces the need for diversity of supply and contracting structures.
Building a bigger portfolio
Chevron’s LNG capacity is set to reach about 20 million tonnes a year. Specifically, that comprises 16 million tonnes of net gas from its own projects and 4 million tonnes contracted from the US Gulf Coast, which began in February and will ramp up over coming years. Moreover, Shaheen said the company wants to keep growing that base.
According to Shaheen, Argentina offers strong prospects as its crude and gas develop, while the East Mediterranean is an exciting area. Furthermore, he flagged opportunities in Australia and Africa, provided projects offer the right capital, fiscal and regulatory terms, though he did not specify locations.
Weighing rival calls on capital
However, those ambitions compete for cash. Specifically, Chevron and its partners plan to invest more than 7 billion dollars to more than double oil output in Venezuela by 2031, and Shaheen said every project gets analysed and ranked in the queue.
The company already runs Australia’s largest LNG project, Gorgon, plus Wheatstone, with much of that supply going to Japan. Additionally, Shaheen called Japan the home base while eyeing Singapore, China and Korea, noting a 2024 deal to supply Sembcorp up to 0.6 million tonnes a year from 2028. Ultimately, he said he would love a deal in India, but cautioned that the price-sensitive market is still evolving, even as buyers increasingly sign with portfolio suppliers.
