The Tuihu-1A re-entry well is designed to deepen the Tuihu-1 exploration well that was drilled in late 2000/early-2001 to a total depth of 4530m. During drilling of this well significant gas shows were encountered in fractured Oligocene sandstones. As a result, Tuihu-1 was suspended at that time pending further geological investigation.
The primary targets of the sidetrack are reservoirs within the Tariki Sandstone and Eocene-aged Kapuni Formation and NZOG's estimated potential for each of these reservoirs is 50bcf of gas.
The Tuihu Prospect is a large structure 24km north of Swift Energy's Waihapa production station to which the well will be linked in the event of commercial discovery. The well is also located 6km from the Tariki gas pipeline, and if successful, could be brought on production rapidly.
Forward operations at the Tuihu-1A well are expected to take another one to two weeks to drill to a total depth of 5100m.
Participants in the Tuihu-1A well are Swift Energy New Zealand 50% (operator), Origin Energy Resources NZ 20%, New Zealand Oil and Gas 20% and Indo Pacific 10%.
