NZOG, which acts as operator for licence PEP 38460, and its partners have been trying to drill the Tui prospect for about a year.
So it was good news when last month the Pohokura partners - Shell, Todd and Preussag Energie - announced they were bringing in the Ocean Bounty to drill the first Pohokura North well off north Taranaki. That appraisal well is scheduled to start early October to ascertain the northern extent of the 1tcf-plus gas-condensate find.
"Naturally we intend to take the opportunity to use the Bounty. It represents a good chance to drill the well cost effectively, as it is a semi submersible and a sister rig to the Ocean Epoch that drilled Hochstetter, rather than a drillship," said NZOG exploration manager Eric Matthews from Sydney today.
"It will be available in the summer weather window, and there is reasonable basis for sharing mobilisation-demobilisation costs around a number of parties."
However, Matthews said NZOG still had to complete a farm-out before the partners could make a firm commitment to drill this summer.
Tui is the largest prospect so far identified in the permit (Hector, Hochstetter and Tahuroa being others). It is considered to be gas/condensate prone as it is closely geologically related to the nearby Maui field and has the potential to hold up to 700 million barrels of oil or 2tcf of gas, plus 100 million barrels of condensate over the five stacked closures identified in the Eocene-aged Kapuni formation.
The last well in the licence was the unsuccessful Hochstetter-1 well, which was drilled three summers ago and also targeted the Kapuni sands.
NZOG holds a 40% interest in PEP 38460, through its Stewart Petroleum subsidiary, while Australian Worldwide Exploration holds 20% and WM Petroleum 40%.
United States major ConocoPhillips is also taking advantage of the arrival of the Diamond Drilling Offshore rig to drill its second well in the Northland Basin.
As well, the Ocean Bounty may spend even longer in New Zealand waters this summer, as the PEP 39413 Maari partners - Shell New Zealand, Todd Energy and OMV Petroleum - have an option to pick up the rig after the Conoco well for an appraisal well in the marginal Maari field south of Maui.
