Operator Tap Oil offered a ray of hope on Friday with its announcement to the ASX and NZX, which said 4m of possibly hydrocarbon-charged sandstones had been encountered at the top of the Miocene-aged Mt Messenger formation within the Jersey Prospect in licence PEP 38748.

However, partner Austral Pacific Energy has now confirmed the sidetrack well - which was started after Hihi-1 hit 15m of reservoir quality containing sufficient hydrocarbon indications to justify the sidetrack - was being plugged and abandoned as a dry hole.

Tap said electric logs indicated 4m, at a measured depth of 1165m, which might be gas charged. However, Austral said that although reservoir sands were intersected below 1700m they were not hydrocarbon charged and there were no zones worthy of flow-testing.

Wellington-headquartered Austral has now turned its attention to the PEP 38738 Cardiff-2 well, which is expected to hit the top of targeted Eocene-aged Kapuni sands within the next few days; while Tap is about the start another shallow well, Miromiro-1, in another part of PEP 38748.