CHEVRON CORP. $108 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $216.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.chevron.com) recently announced that it had discovered promising new gas wells off the northwest coast of Australia. This was its 13th discovery in the area since 2009.
These discoveries enhance the prospects of Chevron’s Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia. Gorgon will convert gas from these offshore fields into a liquid. The company will then ship the LNG on tankers to customers in Asia.
Chevron owns 47% of Gorgon, and will operate it. The company’s share of the $37-billion development cost is $17.4 billion. Gorgon should start producing in 2014. Chevron expects the Australian wells to last 40 years.
Chevron is a buy.