AWE, OMV and Todd last week applied to Crown Minerals for licence PEP 38401, covering 478 square kilometres within existing licence PEP 38481.
Todd Energy managing director Richard Tweedie confirmed to PetroleumNews.net that the three, plus Shell, had relinquished part of the PEP 38481 licence. His company, AWE and OMV had then applied for the new licence without Shell.
“The three of us just wanted to do some further work in the licence but Shell did not want to do it and elected not to join us,” Tweedie said.
“So this was a way of the getting around any possible blocking move by Shell, for the rest of the partners to apply for the new permit.”
Last month, Shell EP International Asia Pacific vice president (technical) Gaurdie Banister said Taranaki did not offer the 100 million barrels-plus fields that Shell was seeking and the company had lost interest in exploring that basin.
Tweedie said the exploration acreage applied for did not include the area where the semi-submersible Ocean Patriot rig is scheduled to drill West Cape-1 once it has completed the four-well Tui development program and the Taranui-1 near-field-appraisal well, as well as the Hector-1 wildcat in licence PEP 38483.
“Once the licence is awarded, I can speak further, but not before that,” Tweedie said.
But he did say that OMV, Origin Energy and Todd Energy had firmed up plans to drill the Moana-1 wildcat well, probably using the jack-up rig Ensco 107, in licence PEP 38485 on the edge of the offshore Taranaki and Northland basins. The PEP 38485 partners hold equal shares in the OMV-operated permit.
Drilling might take place after the 107 rig had drilled the Kupe and Maari development and exploration wells for operators Origin and OMV and their respective joint ventures late this year and early next.
If Crown Minerals grants the PEP 38401 licence, AWE will act as operator, with 50% equity, while OMV will hold 31.25% and Todd Energy 18.75%.
The PEP 38481-482 partners are operator AWE NZ (40%), Shell NZ (20%), OMV NZ (25%) and Todd Petroleum Mining (15%).
