Partner Origin Energy said that Moana-1, in licence PEP 38485, had reached a total depth of 3674m without encountering any significant hydrocarbon shows in the primary reservoir and the well was now being plugged and abandoned.

The Patriot drilled a total of 12 exploration and development wells. While the development wells went smoothly, none of the exploration wells were successful.

The campaign began with the unsuccessful Cutter-1 wildcat off Canterbury in October last year. The Patriot then headed north to drill the four Tui Area development wells, plus the Tieke and Taranui near-field appraisal wells for operator Australian Worldwide Exploration and its Tui partners.

It also drilled other exploration wells - Hector-1, Kopuwai-1 and West Cape-1 for AWE and its respective partners, as well as Kanuka-1 for operator US independent Plains Exploration and Production Company. All were plugged and abandoned.

The semi-submersible rig is now heading for Bass Strait for a multi-well, multi-operator program believed to include Santos and Anzon, which is understood to be preparing to drill Basker-6 in the Gippsland Basin.

The PEP 38485 partners are: operator OMV New Zealand (33.33%), Origin Energy Resources NZ (33.33%) and Todd Petroleum Mining (33.33%).