The sidetrack well, east of Stratford in licence PEP 38716, is having 5-inch casing run down to 4428 metres depth so sustained testing can be done of both the Eocene-aged Kapuni sequence and the extensive fractures encountered within the Murihiku Group metasediments basement rock.
Huinga partner Pancontinental Oil and Gas is reported as saying the find is already commercially significant. "We have a high degree of confidence we have significant oil reserves," said company chief executive Andrew Svalbe from Perth.
However, fellow partner Indo-Pacific Energy is not ready to crack open the champagne just yet. Chief executive Dave Bennett said there was a wide range of interpretation as to just what the results to date meant for the explorers.
"We could have a major oil discovery or a very expensive teaser, or anything within that range. We simply do not yet know. However, a quite substantial discovery, about the size of McKee, is possible."
Svalbe said the Huinga discovery could play a crucial role in the future of New Zealand's energy industry considering the forecast decline of the offshore Maui field. However, industry commentators say no comparisons between the two should be made. Maui is largely gas-condensate, with some oil rims, whereas Huinga looks to be mostly oil.
Bennett said once the 5-inch liner had been set and sliding sleeve test equipment installed down the hole, the well would be perforated within the Murihiku basement fractures and the Kapuni formation. This should take until early next week.
The Parker Drilling Rig 188 would then be released to Shell Todd Oil Services for the drilling of another deviated Pohokura South well from Motunui.
The complex Taranaki geology and difficult Huinga sidetrack well were continuing to frustrate the PEP 38716 partners. While about 130m of the Kapuni sequence had initially been drilled, last weekend's barefoot open-hole test had only been done over some 20-30m of Kapuni sands as the bottom of the hole was already damaged and falling in on itself.
Bennett said the partners soon hoped to secure a smaller and cheaper rig, such as the Parker 252 or the OD&E 19, so testing of the Huinga find could resume by early August. The series of tests would allow vital flow and pressure data to be gathered, to give the exploration team a much clearer indication of the nature of the reservoir and whether commercial flow rates could be sustained.
The initial drill stem test last weekend, across a section of Kapuni sandstone, recovered about 21 barrels of oil. Click here for a larger picture
