Associate Energy Minister Harry Duynhoven last Friday afternoon announced the granting of the 17,490 square kilometre extension, PEP 3834401, to the American company’s original 8396sq.km permit, PEP 38344.
Work program commitments for the extended acreage provide for three exploration wells in the first five-year term of the permit, re-processing 3800km of existing seismic data, acquiring 2000km of new 2D seismic data and up to $NZ2 million ($A1.76 million) in expenditure on additional geological and geophysical studies.
This means the Houston-headquartered company will be drilling one more wildcat, as well as acquiring 500km more seismic data and reprocessing 1300km more existing seismic than it said it would do when granted the original licence last May.
The revamped minimum work program commitments will require estimated exploration expenditure exceeding $US60 million ($A80 million) over the initial five-year permit period.
Pogo’s original permit covered all of Hawke’s Bay, while the extension covers a more northern coastal strip to near East Cape.
Duynhoven said Pogo had been given the go-ahead to extend its sole offshore East Coast exploration permit in order to follow leads already identified by the Houston-headquartered company.
As well as the offshore East Coast licence, Pogo has three offshore Taranaki permits and plans to utilise the semi-submersible Ocean Patriot next year to drill one wildcat in PEP 38488 and another in PEP 38489 or PEP 38490.
In addition, Pogo has extensive interests in North America, Thailand and Vietnam.
Duynhoven said in May that the awarding of the initial Pogo East Coast licence signalled the start of more aggressive exploration campaigns from international operators.
He last Friday said the increased investment by Pogo and other companies “confirms that investment in oil and gas exploration in New Zealand remains strong”.
He added that a number of New Zealand’s petroleum basins were getting close to being fully permitted.
“The growing number of new exploration work programs underway in offshore Taranaki, Northland and East Coast shows the government’s focused efforts on stimulating investment in exploration in New Zealand are proving successful.”
Duyhoven said that Crown Minerals had awarded over 100,000sq.km of new exploration acreage in the past two years.
“Both current and proposed levels of exploration activity mean that New Zealanders should feel optimistic that any big oil and gas deposits are now much more likely to be found.”
He also noted “a high level of interest” in the Great South Basin Blocks Offer – which opened recently and closes on March 31, 2007. However, he did not say which or how many companies had expressed interest in the GSB offer so far.
Duynhoven has previously said he expects strong international interest, including from the world’s major oil companies, in the 40 near-identical GSB blocks.
