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(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
July 07, 2011 20:07 ET (00:07 GMT)
DJ Chevron, Apache, PTTEP Awarded Australia Exploration Permits

SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Chevron Corp. (CVX), Apache Corp. (APA) and Thailand's PTT
Exploration & Production PCL (PTTEP.TH) are among six companies that have been
awarded new offshore oil and gas exploration permits by Australia's government.
Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson on Friday estimated that exploration work
on the six permits in waters off Western Australia and South Australia states will have a
combined value of nearly A$137 million over three years, with further investment possible
depending on exploration success.
Special conditions have been placed on PTTEP, which was responsible for the Montara oil
spill offshore northern Australia in 2009. These include lodging governance processes
with the regulator prior to drilling, preparing a spill mitigation report, and being open
to a peer review of drilling operations at the regulator's discretion.
Other companies to win permits include MEO Australia Ltd. (MEO.AU) and little-known
Australian firms Flow Energy Ltd. and Bight Petroleum Corp.