Australia

Discovery in Highly Prospective Gorgon Area Supports Company's Long-Term Plans for Natural Gas Development

SAN RAMON, Calif., October 18, 2009 - Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today announced an additional natural gas discovery in the Greater Gorgon area's Carnarvon Basin, Australia's premier offshore hydrocarbon zone.

The Achilles-1 exploration well, located approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the coast of northwest Australia, was drilled to a total depth of 14,800 feet (4,500 meters) and encountered approximately 325 feet (100 meters) of net gas pay.    » read more »

GE’s CHP Units Help Mine Reduce Environmental Impact by Saving 1.3 Million Tons of CO2 per Year

29 September 2009 -- NORTH QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA -- Queensland Minister for Mines and Energy Stephen Robertson today formally opened one of Australia‘s most powerful onsite power plants fueled by waste coal mine gas (WCMG). Today’s event highlights the mining industry’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its activities while ensuring that coal remains an important national export and global energy source.    » read more »

15-year Deal Builds on Several Recent Supply Commitments Commercializing Chevron's Equity Natural Gas in Australia

SAN RAMON, Calif., September 15, 2009 - Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today announced that its Australian subsidiaries have signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) for 1.5 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gorgon project.

As part of the arrangement, Chevron and KOGAS have an option to extend the 15-year agreement for a further five years. The parties are also discussing LNG sales and an equity purchase from Chevron's Wheatstone project, located in northwest Australia.    » read more »

Airlines will offer more destinations and improved service in the US-Australia and US-South Pacific markets

Jul 08, 2009 -- ATLANTA, and BRISBANE, Australia, July 8 -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and the Virgin Blue Airlines Group (ASX: VBA) announced today they plan to seek regulatory approval to form a joint venture that will expand both carriers' reach between the U.S. and Australia and the South Pacific.

The alliance will allow Delta and the Virgin Blue Airlines Group to compete more effectively in those markets by collaborating on route and product planning, codesharing on their respective networks and extending frequent flyer program benefits and lounge access to customers of both airlines.    » read more »

June 24, 2009 -- The President spoke with Prime Minister Rudd on Tuesday evening, June 23rd. They discussed the North Korea nuclear issue, including ways in which the United States and Australia can work together to ensure full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1874.

They noted their upcoming July travel to Italy, where they will see each other at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, and discussed ways to cooperate on the Forum’s issues.

Source: White House

SYDNEY - 09 Jun 2009: Telstra announced today that it has extended its information technology (IT) operations and services agreement with IBM until the year 2014. The five-year contract, which is an extension of an existing services agreement, is worth a total of AU$745million. It will result in greater automation and improved remote management capability of Telstra's IT systems, while reducing server build time enabling the telecommunications giant to more efficiently execute complex projects across its IT infrastructure.    » read more »

Sydney, June 8, 2009 -- EDS, an HP company, has signed one of two expanded applications services contracts – with a combined value of $330 million (AU$450 million) – that Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications provider, announced today to improve performance and lower costs.

EDS’ five-year, $140 million (AU$190 million) deal is one of the largest application management engagements signed this year in Australia. Its agreement also includes potential additional discretionary opportunities of up to $245 million (AU$334 million). Under the agreement, which runs through to 2014, EDS will provide applications development and management services for Telstra’s critical business applications.    » read more »

Sydney, Australia - 05/19/2009 - Conservation groups today welcomed the announcement by Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett to establish a Conservation Zone over the entire Coral Sea within Australian waters and called on the Minister to ensure sufficient resources for his Department to carry out a full and prompt assessment of the area.

The conservation groups believe the Minister’s announcement signals a clear intent by the Government to permanently protect this tropical marine jewel in its entirety, a decision that would make the Coral Sea the largest protected area on Earth.    » read more »

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.--16 April 2009-- GE Energy announced that it is joining an Australian government-supported initiative to facilitate the development and deployment of carbon capture and storage projects worldwide.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed by General Electric International and the Australian government, GE is becoming a founding member of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI). The institute will provide international policy and management oversight with a goal of delivering commercial-scale CCS plants around the world. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s government has pledged to provide up to $100 million per year to fund the institute.    » read more »

02/23/2009 - A new collaboration of key Australian and international conservation groups today launched Save Our Marine Life to secure the future of Australia’s south west marine environment. This globally significant region is home to a far greater proportion of unique marine life than the Great Barrier Reef.

At the launch in Perth, a new report was also released. It found that up to 9 out of 10 marine species found off Australia’s south west coast are found nowhere else on Earth, but less than 1% of this region is protected.    » read more »

Award-Winning Television Programming Now Available on the iTunes Store in Australia

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, June 25, 2008 — Apple® today announced that television programming from Australia’s top networks including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Seven Network and Nine Network, along with US-produced programs from The Walt Disney Company’s ABC Studios, Disney Channel and MTV Networks, is now available on the iTunes® Store in Australia (itunes.com/au). iTunes customers can choose from a wide range of television shows including the Logie Award-winning “Summer Heights High” and “McLeod’s Daughters,” the top-rated drama “Sea Patrol,” as well as favorites from the US including “Lost,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Hills.”    » read more »

SYDNEY, Australia, June 19, 2008 - On June 11, the entertainment heavyweight that is WWE® descended upon the shores of Australia and New Zealand. The tour swept through seven cities in seven days, playing in front of fanatical crowds in Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, and Newcastle before finishing up in Brisbane on June 17, making it the longest live event tour to date in the region.

Along with more than 68,000 WWE fans who attended the seven live events, ringside to watch the drama unfold were top TV comedian Rove McManus, Australian cricket hero Shane Warne, former champion boxer Jeff Fenech, as well as stars from Newcastle Knights, Sydney Swans, The NZ Warriors and Geelong Football Club.    » read more »

Sydney -- 02 June 2008 -- Australian combat troops have begun leaving Iraq. Their departure fulfills an election promise by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who pledged to pull his country's out of Iraq by the middle of 2008. For Australia's 550 combat soldiers, the war in Iraq is over.

Australian Army Sgt. helps a wounded US Army soldier: Australian Regular Army Sgt. Tarese Heath cuts the boot off an U.S. Army Soldier with broken toes in the emergency department at Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad, Iraq, on June 22, 2005. Photo by Pattie A. (CC)

They have begun leaving their base at Tallil, 300 kilometers south of Baghdad, where they have been helping to train Iraqi security forces.    » read more »

May 21, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) held a hearing this morning entitled, “Defense Trade Cooperation with the United Kingdom and Australia.” The Committee heard testimony from John C. Rood, Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs at the State Department.

The full text of Sen. Biden’s opening statement from this morning’s hearing is below:

“Forty years ago, the Arms Export Control Act was enacted to fashion an orderly process for promoting U.S. arms sales while preventing the spread of advanced military technology and equipment to our enemies or to countries that might misuse those exports.    » read more »

March 31, 2008 -- Washington, DC -- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today to discuss U.S.-Australian relations and their shared commitment to sustaining and promoting the historic friendship between the two nations.
The Prime Minster and Senator Clinton also addressed matters of mutual concern to the United States and Australia, including Australia’s health care system, relations with China, and other issues relating to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim.

Senator Hillary Clinton meets with Australian Prime Minister Kevin RuddThis was the first meeting between Clinton and Rudd since he became Australia’s 26th Prime Minister in December.    » read more »