EXPLORATION

Tap has fourth duster in onshore NZ block

TAP Oil is having trouble striking hydrocarbons in small, shallow Miocene-aged Mt Messenger-Moki prospects in onshore Taranaki – it is now plugging and abandoning the fourth such well in recent months.

Tap has fourth duster in onshore NZ block

PEP 38748 partner Austral Pacific Energy says on its website today that plug and abandon operations are in progress at the Kakariki-1 wellsite after only eight days drilling.

Tap said from Perth earlier this month that Kakariki-1 had spudded and would take about 11 days to drill to a total depth of 1825m, targeting oil plays within the Mt Messenger and Moki sandstones.

Tap operates the licence and holds a 50% interest, along with partners Austral Pacific and Magellan Petroleum (25% equity each).

Tap has participated in the Hihi-1 well (PEP 38748), Miromiro-1 (PEP 38765), Hursthouse-1 (PEP 38745) and now Kakariki – all of which targeted shallow Mt Messenger-Moki prospects containing 1-4 million barrels of oil, and all of which have been plugged and abandoned.

Tap must be hoping for better with its last two scheduled shallow onshore Taranaki wells – Takahe-1 in PEP 38744, due to spud in April, and Supplejack-1 in PEP 38741, to spud in June.

The Perth-based players’ attention must also be turning to its upcoming Barque-1 well that is scheduled to be drilled mid-2005 in offshore Canterbury Basin licence PEP 38259 and targeting a “very large” prospect which Tap says could contain up to 5 tcf of gas and 500 million barrels of liquids.

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