| Site Navigation |
|
|
| Search Archives |
|
|
| |
| Regional Spotlight |
New Zealand attracting international interest
by Dev George, Managing Editor
 |
| New Zealand petroleum basins: 1 Northland Basin, 2 Taranaki Basin, 3 Wanganui Basin, 4 East Coast Basin, 5 West Coast Basin, 6 Canterbury Basin, 7 West Southland Basin, 8 Great South Basin. |
(1/17/2001) New Zealand is being increasingly recognized as a prospective petroleum region that is attracting international attention.
Exploration and production of oil and gas in the country dates back to the 1860s, but the South Pacific nation is witnessing a resurgence of exploration and development activity today, and many major international oil companies are participating in its present licensing of E&P permits.
Exploration is at its highest level in New Zealand since the mid-1980s, with interest being shown in all of the country's petroleum basins. Some 50 operating permits have been issued this year, and drilling is at a high - 24 wells this year and 22 last year.
New Zealand currently produces something over 40,000 b/d of oil and about 600 million cf/d of gas, almost all from onshore and offshore in the Taranaki Basin. Despite its numerous recent discoveries, the country's claim to fame is its giant Maui Field, some 17 miles off the west coast of the North Island in the Taranaki Basin. It accounts for 70% of the country's oil production, but the field is in decline and is expected to become depleted by 2005. It and the nearby Kapuni Field also account for 90% of New Zealand's gas production.
The Taranaki Basin extends over some 85,000 sq km both onshore and offshore the western side of the North Island and is thought to contain estimated reserves of at least 365 million bbl of oil and 5.8 Tcf of gas. Production from the basin last year was 12.3 million bbl oil/condensate and 216 bcf gas, and in the first half of this year, production has been 13 million bbl of oil and 220 bcf of gas.
|
|
Click on map to enlarge. |
There have been numerous discoveries over the past three years in Taranaki, including the offshore Maari and Pohokura Fields and the onshore Kauri, Rimu, and Windsor Fields. Approximately 300 exploratory wells and 100 production wells have been drilled there by such companies as Royal Dutch/Shell, Todd Petroleum, OMV, Preussag Energie, and Swift Energy. Extensive 2D and 3D seismic data have also been acquired the basin.
 |
| The Mauri A Platform. |
Indo-Pacific Energy's Goldie Field onshore Taranaki is about to see a four-well drilling program beginning in December, and Swift Energy has completed drilling its first well on the Kauri prospect, an onshore structure in the South Taranaki license. The Kauri prospect is in the same license area and just south of the Rimu discovery which Swift plans to bring into production later this year.
Shell's Pohokura-1 well offshore Taranaki was an important gas-condensate discovery and is set for development next year. Preliminary assessments of its reserves are 750 billion cf of gas and 40 millions bbl of condensate. Likewise, Swift Energy's Rimu discovery has estimated potential reserves of 40-100 million boe. It has also estimated that the Kauri and Tawa prospects in the same permit each hold even larger reserve potential. Swift is scheduling development for next year as well.
The Shell-operated Maari Field in the southern offshore Taranaki Basin has estimated oil in place of 100-250 million bbl and ultimate recoverable figures have been estimated at between 25-60 million bbl.
|
|
Indo-Pacific's Goldie 1. |
In New Zealand's East Coast Basin, the Westech Energy-Orion Exploration joint venture has made three moderate sized gas discoveries since 1998. They are the first potentially commercial hydrocarbon discoveries made outside the Taranaki Basin. The large and prospective East Coast Basin is essentially unexplored and stretches for almost 500 miles down the eastern side of the North Island.
Farther afield, Hardman Resources was awarded Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP) 38215 in the Great South Basin, New Zealand. The permit covers an area of 11,665 sq km situated to the southeast of New Zealand's South Island.
New licensing round
In its largest licensing round in ten years, New Zealand is offering 26 Taranaki blocks to competitive bidding - six nearshore and 20 onshore, supported by TGS-Nopec's recently acquired 2D seismic data covering 6,800 km of the sparsely explored deepwater Taranaki Basin, an area of approximately 60,000 sq km. The 2001-2002 Onshore and Nearshore Taranaki Petroleum Exploration Permit Blocks Offer is under the supervision of the Crown Minerals office of the Ministry of Economic Development, which manages, on behalf of the New Zealand government, all oil and gas resources it owns.
New Zealand permit allocation and management regime and fiscal terms are considered among the best in the world, and the country has a deregulated and efficient business environment. Many of its basins are prospective but unexplored, and there are many structures and plays that have been defined but are still untested.
Bids should be submitted by April 30, 2002.
Click here for information on the current licensing round.
Click below for earlier reports on exploration and development.
Swift progressing with 3 New Zealand wells.
Indo-Pacific sets major NZ drilling program.
OGI Homepage I Contact Us
|
| |
