Crown Minerals says it has granted Pogo a 119 sqkm southern extension to its PEP 38490 licence which adjoins the north-eastern edge of the Maui mining licence. The original 359 sq km permit, which also borders the Taranaki coast south of Cape Egmont, was issued to the Houston-based company last February.
Pogo is required to reprocess and interpret almost 700km of 2D seismic data, including 177 km in the new extension, with the acquisition of some 3D seismic also required in the coming 18 months.
Pogo’s second quarter 2004 report says it plans to acquire new 3D seismic from about December over at least a quarter of its 1.014 million acres offshore Taranaki permits - the largest of all Pogo’s stakes in the United States, Denmark North Sea, Hungary, Gulf of Thailand or NZ.
The report says this new seismic, when processed and reviewed, should lead to exploratory drilling from late 2005.
