Speaking to media at the sidelines of the 2011 APPEA Conference & Exhibition, Chevron Australia managing director Roy Krzywosinski said the company had so far been able to get all the local skills it needed to carry out the work though he noted Chevron was anticipating skill shortages for higher end skill sets such as welders, technicians and pipe-fitters.

"We plan for the worst and hope for the best when it comes to skills shortages," he said. "We are working very closely with government to address those issues if there is a skill gap."

Krzywosinski added that Chevron's objective was always to hire local labour as a first priority before going to an international source.

"It is in our interest to have a very vibrant sustainable local workforce," he said.

Meanwhile, Chevron Global Gas president John Gas said the project remained on schedule for first gas in 2014 and had passed significant construction milestones over the past year.

Krzywosinski said the company had made sure a lot of the work for the project was out before it committed to it.

"We have a pretty reasonable contingency in the project," he said.

Gass also said Chevron had enjoyed success with the drill bit in Australia and was awaiting the arrival of the Atwood Osprey in the Carnarvon Basin next month to start a drilling program in the Greater Gorgon area consisting of an exploration well and Gorgon development wells.

Speaking on Wheatstone, Krzywosinski told reporters the projects was progressing well and Chevron planned to make a final investment decision in the second half of this year.

He added the company had sequenced Wheatstone two years after Gorgon to optimise the queuing and sequencing of the developments.

"So we can optimise resources such as the skill set and local labour," Krzywosinski said.