The government-owned company today confirmed rumours it had bought Bridge’s 40% stake in the permit, but did not disclose the sum.

Company external affairs manager Neil Williams said the new project was part of MRP’s ongoing plans to expand and diversify its generation portfolio, to help meet the country’s growing energy requirements.

The power generator and retailer joins operator Transworld Exploration and Production (40%) and Westech Energy New Zealand (20%) in the joint venture. Houston-headquartered Transworld also operates the Tui Area oil fields through New Zealand Overseas Petroleum.

The three PEP 38491 partners will start exploring the 1429 square kilometre permit off the north Taranaki coast later this summer by acquiring 240 sq.km of 3D seismic data.

MRP's involvement in gas comes through its ownership of the 122MW Southdown co-generation plant in south Auckland and its Mercury Energy subsidiary retailing gas and electricity services throughout the upper North Island.

MRP was one of the last New Zealand downstream players to move upstream, but has now acquired a significant diversified portfolio of exploration assets in little more than a year. It also participates fully as a joint venture partner, undertaking technical work as well as funding exploration, in contrast to other downstream players such as Methanex New Zealand which has been involved primarily in providing capital only.

MRP’s first leap upstream was an agreement last March with Swift Energy New Zealand to explore for "deep gas" (Eocene-aged or earlier) in the onshore Tariki-Ahuroa-Waihapa-Ngaere (Tawn) fields and the more southern Rimu-Kauri fields. The first well, Tawa-B1 in onshore Taranaki licence PEP 38719, was plugged and abandoned about a month ago; while the more northern Tawn area wells, Goss-A1 and Trapper-A1, spudded later in November.

More recently, MRP extended its strategic alliance with Swift Energy by taking a 50% chunk of Swift’s new offshore Taranaki licence PEP 38495, which contains the promising Kaheru prospect over which some 3D seismic is planned this summer.

Bridge executive director Kevin Johnson today told EnergyReview.net that the MRP transaction was part of his company’s normal portfolio management and Bridge would use the proceeds from the sale to increase working capital. He declined to comment further.