Chevron Says Production Begins At Hess-Operated Tubular Bells Project

(RTTNews) - Chevron Corp. (CVX) Monday said the Tubular Bells deepwater project operated by Hess Corp. (HES) has started producing crude oil and natural gas, with the output target set for 50,000 barrels of oil-equivalent per day.

"The deepwater Gulf of Mexico plays a significant part in our earnings and production growth," said George Kirkland, vice chairman, Upstream at Chevron. "Achieving first oil at Tubular Bells is an important step towards Chevron achieving its production goal of 3.1 million barrels per day by 2017."

The field, which Chevron says has an estimated production life of 25 years, is located 135 miles southeast of New Orleans in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron's unit, Chevron U.S.A. Inc., holds a 42.86 percent working interest in the development, while Hess holds 57.14 percent.