Chevron names new VLCC The Richard H. Matzke

In a festive ceremony, Mrs. Billie Ann Matzke, as sponsor of a new state-of-the-art oil tanker, raised the traditional bottle of champagne and named the tanker vessel RICHARD H. MATZKE, the newest addition to Chevron's tanker fleet. The double-hulled vessel is named in honour of her husband, Richard, a director of Chevron Corp. and president of Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc.
Mrs. Matzke addressed a group of dignitaries representing the Korean government, executives of Chevron and Samsung Heavy Industries, and more than a dozen Chevron Overseas employees and their spouses, representing their colleagues from around the world.

The new tanker is the third in a series of four new VLCCs to be built by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. at Samsung's Koje Island shipyard and christened for Chevron Shipping Co. Chevron will operate the vessel under long-term bareboat charter. The fourth vessel will be delivered in early 2000.
The new 308,500-dwt tanker is one of the four largest double-hulled tankers in the company's owned and controlled fleet, bringing to 13 the number of double-hulled ships operated by Chevron. The addition of the vessel is part of an ongoing fleet retirement and renewal program begun by Chevron Shipping in 1990.
Initially, the new VLCC will move crude from ports in the Middle East to the U.S. Gulf coast for delivery to Chevron's refinery at Pascagoula, Miss. The tanker's schedule will later be expanded to move crude to the company's West Coast refineries.
The vessel will carry approximately 2.2 mm barrels of crude oil, using a state-of-the-art navigation system which features total integration between the diesel engines and the steering bridge -- a system which ensures complete backup for all critical control systems.

As president of Chevron Overseas Petroleum (COPI), Matzke is responsible for directing Chevron's oil exploration and production activities outside North America. During his tenure as COPI president, Matzke presided over the lengthy negotiations which won Chevron the role as operator of the Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan, one of the world's largest oil fields. COPI also has grown steadily in West Africa, the U.K. North Sea, South America and the Pacific Rim.
Matzke is a native of Illinois and holds degrees from Iowa State University, Pennsylvania State University and St. Mary's College of California. Matzke was named to the board of Chevron Corp. in 1997.