Operator Austral intends applying state-of-the-art processing techniques to search for direct evidence of gas and or oil in the several large prospects already identified on existing seismic within the permit.

“The Canterbury Basin has excellent exploration potential, and may hold the key to addressing New Zealand’s burgeoning gas and energy supply crisis,” adds Bennett.

On the development front, good progress is being made with construction of the Kahili gas-condensate treatment facilities and pipeline link into NGC’s Kapuni gas treatment plant.

Late last year Austral and the other PEP 38736 joint venture parties announced an agreement with NGC Holdings, for a pipeline and pre-treatment facilities to link the Kahili gas discovery into NGC’s gas gathering system and thence south to Kapuni. Current field reserves are estimated, by partner Tap Oil, at 4.7PJ of gas and 300,000 barrels of condensate.

The facilities are scheduled for commissioning by the end of June, with initial flow rates expected to be around 5TJ per day. The gross cost to the Kahili JV for this project is estimated at less than NZ$500,000, with NGC undertaking most of the capital works at its own cost.

Bennett says the Kahili development marks a significant step in the positioning of Austral Pacific as a supplier of gas to national markets, at a time when this country urgently needs to secure new gas supplies.

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