Todd Energy will need more gas supplies as it plans to build up to three new gas-fired power stations in or near the greater Auckland region over the next few years.
In its submission to the commission – signed by commercial operations manager Babu Bahirathan – said: “Todd Energy’s parent company Todd Petroleum Mining Company has already commenced work on options to secure long term gas from sources in New Zealand and offshore.”
Bahirathan said Todd had sufficient existing gas reserves to supply a 200MW plant, but to ensure availability of gas beyond 2015 Todd had increased exploration and moved to import gas.
He did not specify whether that gas would be shipped as LNG or CNG, as Contact Energy and Genesis Energy have indicated might be feasible.
But Tweedie – whom EnergyReview.net could not contact this morning – is reported as saying his company’s report to the commission was inaccurate and that Todd Energy wanted the local exploration to remain healthy by finding more indigenous gas.
Tweedie has previously argued – as has Wellington energy analyst Chris Stone - that importing LNG would damage the local energy industry by locking New Zealand into the prevailing international LNG price for decades.
Tweedie said the economic justification for one 200MW gas-fired station was based on using Todd’s domestic gas, and there would be sufficient gas “for some time” through Todd’s existing gas entitlements and its ongoing exploration program.
Tood's main gas assets, Kapuni (50% Todd interest), and McKee and Mangahewa (100%), had delivered more than their respective P50 estimates and Tweedie believed the same would be true for the nearshore Pohokura gas-condensate (26%).
Todd Energy also holds a 6.25% interest in the rapidly dwindling offshore Maui field, which has so far produced less gas than its original P50 estimates.
The company was also considering drilling more wells at the onshore Mangahewa field and was further appraising its Karewa discovery in licence PEP 602, on the edge of the Taranaki-Northland basins.
Todd was also looking at ways of getting Karewa gas ashore and to the Auckland market.
Last year Tweedie said Karewa had P50 gas reserves, in the Pliocene-aged Mangaa sands, of about 60-150 bcf and other nearby prospects could yield another 150-200 bcf.
