After last month applying for PEP 38499, a new lease adjacent to the oil-rich Tui Area, Sydney-headquartered AWE has now applied for new licence PEP 38444, a 1928 square kilometre block immediately north of existing licences PEP 38481 and 38482, while OMV has applied for new licence PEP 38438, a 1311sq.km block northwest of PEP 38444.
These moves are the latest by several established New Zealand players who, in recent months, have sought to increase their exploration portfolios – by either applying for new acreage or farming-in to existing permits.
Last month AWE, the Maui partners, and New Zealand integrated energy player Genesis Energy each applied for new exploration acreage off Taranaki.
AWE managing director Bruce Phillips said today it would be premature to comment on his company’s latest licence application.
“We have only been notified by Crown Minerals of our application, we don’t yet know if it will be granted or what conditions may apply,” he said.
“However, I can say that we wholeheartedly agree with recent comments about a resurgent New Zealand exploration scene.
“I believe AWE, OMV, Pogo and others are among the newish companies that have come to New Zealand in recent years, taking some significant stakes. We are now consolidating our positions and expanding our portfolios.
“Certainly, from AWE’s perspective we have made a long-term commitment to New Zealand, with Tui being just one of those commitments. We are looking at new acreage and have looked at a number of possible farm-outs. I believe almost everyone is looking at vacant North Island acreage.”
The Tui Area partners are spending $US225 million ($A287.3 million) developing the Tui, Amokura and Pateke oil pools, with first flows of up to 50,000 barrels of oil per day scheduled from mid-2007.
So far AWE has been involved in two wildcat wells in the country – Cutter-1 off Canterbury, which was drilled then later plugged and abandoned by a Tap Oil-led consortium, and the Tui Area near-field appraisal well, Tieke-1, which AWE and its partners last month suspended for a possible later re-entry.
“We still have three wildcats to go, the other near-field Tui appraisal well, Taranui-1, Hector-1 further south in licence PEP 38483, and West Cape-1 in nearby PEP 39483,” Phillips said.
Phillips added that AWE’s alliance partner in Australia and New Zealand, Mitsui, had recently farmed-in to three offshore Taranaki licence operated by US Pogo Producing Company, taking a 25% stake from the New Zealand Government’s Mighty River Power.
OMV NZ has declined to comment on its latest licence application.
The PMP 38158 (Tui Area) partners are operator AWE with a 42.5% stake, New Zealand Oil & Gas (through its subsidiary Stewart Petroleum) (12.5%), Mitsui E & P New Zealand (35%) and Pan Pacific Petroleum (10%).
The PEP 38481-482 partners are operator AWE NZ (40%), Shell NZ (through Energy Western Holdings) (20%), OMV NZ (25%), and Todd Petroleum Mining (15%).
The PEP 38483 partners are operator AWE NZ (44.317%), NZOG (18.864%), Mitsui E&P NZ (22.728%) and Pan Pacific (14.091%).
