Crown Minerals reports that Todd subsidiary Todd Petroleum Mining Company has been awarded the large permit PEP 38494, covering 5341 sqkm south of Maui and Maari fields in the southern offshore Taranaki Basin. The permit contains identified leads from the Pakawau, Eocene-aged Kapuni and Miocene-aged Moki formations.

Only four wells have been drilled in the area, including three in the 1970s by Aquitaine Petroleum soon after the Maui field was discovered in 1969. Though a considerable amount of seismic data was obtained in the area from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, there has been little exploration in the area since.

Austral Pacific has been granted the small permit PEP 38492, covering just 69 sqkm between the Kupe mining permit and the south Taranaki coast. The permit contains the Hawera West lead, in the Kapuni formation, part of which is within the northern end of the Kupe licence now operated by Aussie major Origin Energy.

This is the second walk into offshore waters for Austral Pacific boss Dave Bennett, whose company also operates PEP 38480 northeast of the Pohokura gas-condensate field. Bennett was exploration manager for New Zealand Oil & Gas when it headed the consortium that discovered the Kupe field in 1986. NZOG presently holds a 15% stake in Kupe.

Wellington-headquartered Todd Energy and Austral are now among the leading local lights with Shell exiting exploration in New Zealand.