ChevronTexaco To Be Selected By Venezuela

ChevronTexaco (NYSE: CVX) today confirmed that the Government of Venezuela has selected ChevronTexaco and partner BG Group as preferred bidder for Block 2, one of five offshore blocks in the northeastern Plataforma Deltana, a major prospective natural gas region in Venezuela's Atlantic continental shelf.

Block 2 contains the significant undeveloped gas discovery known as the Loran Field, discovered in 1982 by Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), the state-owned oil and gas company.

BG and ChevronTexaco will now enter into discussions with the Venezuelan Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) to finalize the work program and commercial terms of Block 2. BG will operate the Block on behalf of the group which is likely to include PDVSA.

"One of ChevronTexaco's growth strategies is to expand our participation in the international gas business," remarked George Kirkland, president of ChevronTexaco Overseas Petroleum. "Our recent announcements regarding the development of gas fields in Trinidad, and of Australian gas for the export of liquefied natural gas to China, are further evidence of our commitment to that strategy."

ChevronTexaco currently holds a 30 percent interest in the Hamaca Project, one of Venezuela's five strategic partnerships in the prolific Orinoco Belt, and operates both the Boscan and LL-652 fields in western Venezuela.

"ChevronTexaco and BG bring together skills and the expertise of two long-term partners and position us to be a major participant in Plataforma Deltana, one of the world's most exciting natural gas exploration and development opportunities," said Ali Moshiri, president of ChevronTexaco Latin America Upstream. "This announcement demonstrates our continuing long-term commitment to invest in the Venezuelan oil and gas industry and we are enthusiastic about the prospect of being a part of the Plataforma Deltana project," Moshiri added.

BG and ChevronTexaco have a history of partnership in the region, where they each hold a 50 percent interest in the Trinidad and Tobago portion of the Loran Field, which extends into Block 2 on the Venezuelan side.

Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information for the Purpose of "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Some of the items discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements about the development of Block 2 in the Plataforma Deltana region, offshore Venezuela, and other potential future activities in Venezuela. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections. The statements included in this release are not guarantees and actual outcomes and results could differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in these forward-looking statements.

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