New Zealand Oil and Gas this morning said Pukeko-1, in licence PEP 38460, had encountered minor oil shows over the interval 3285-3320m in the upper part of the Eocene-aged Kapuni C sands.
“While indications are that this interval is unlikely to be considered commercially significant, the big thing is that these sands are oil charged, as we hope the deeper D and F sands will also be,” NZOG general manager Gordon Ward told EnergyReview.Net from Wellington today.
“The possibility of a commercial discovery at Pukeko (which would be the third in the permit) would really cement our position; that would be very exciting.”
However, commentators cautioned against any over-enthusiasm. “I have no problem with there being oil charge from the other side, west of Maui, but I wonder about volumes as only ten percent or so of hydrocarbons generated find their way to traps,” one told ERN.
NZOG - a 12.5% stakeholder through its Stewart Petroleum subsidiary - expects the Ocean Bounty rig to intersect the D sands and F sands (which flow oil at Maui B) over the next few days.
