Patience, investor

Chevron’s bet on big-ticket projects will pay off, eventually

The Gorgon liquefied natural gas project limped into service in March, a year late and over budget. The timing hardly seemed propitious: with oil and natural gas prices still so low, who needs another Australian LNG plant – especially one costing $54bn? Well, Chevron does; the company has an oilier asset base than rivals such as Shell and ExxonMobil. Gorgon – almost 50% owned by Chevron – beefs up the company’s exposure to gas. Trains two and three should come on stream at six-month intervals, bringing the plant towards its design capacity of 15.6m tonnes a year. More LNG will become available from mid-2017, when production starts at Wheatstone – an 8.9m-t/y, two-train plant owned 64.14% by