Australian shale dream stalls as Chevron walks

The US company is leaving as it tries to balance the books amid low oil prices

US major Chevron has exited one of the most prospective unconventional patches in Australia as it strives to cut spending in the wake of falling oil prices.  The move, which will see it walk away from the $349m venture with local player Beach Energy, mooted at the most significant unconventional exploration pact in the country when it was struck in February 2013, looks set to stall Australia’s efforts to replicate the US shale production boom. It was the largest shale gas deal in Australia, bringing a global heavyweight into a promising area, the Cooper basin, for future gas supply – both to the domestic market in the eastern states and the new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants in Qu