Grant Geophysical is utilising the small Jolly Roger boat, which belongs to New Plymouth-based Charterman Marine Services, to acquire 3 sqkm of inshore 3D seismic for PEP 38464 operator Greymouth Petroleum.

Greymouth chief operating officer John Sturgess told EnergyReview.Net that Greymouth was acquiring the high-resolution, transition zone seismic in shallow waters inside and outside the Port Taranaki harbour and said the small shoot should be finished later this week.

“Previous offshore seismic, of which there is quite a lot, focussed on structures three or four kilometres down. Our survey will fill the gap between available conventional marine seismic and land seismic recorded previously through the streets of New Plymouth,” Sturgess told ERN.

Greymouth was not interested in replicating JFP Energy’s Toka-1 well, which was a deviated well drilled from the port targeting Eocene-aged sands, nor Fletcher Challenge Energy’s Paritutu-1 well, both drilled last decade.

“But we think there is still potential in the permit, not another Maui but hopefully some worthwhile accumulations,” Sturgess told ERN.

The New Plymouth-2 well, just a kilometre or two inland from the port, had flowed gas in test for Shell, BP and Todd during the 1960s. PEP 38464 covers both onshore and offshore areas and includes the historic Moturoa oil field.