Wellington-headquartered NZOG told the Australian and New Zealand bourses yesterday afternoon that the latest surplus was made after writing off petroleum exploration costs of $800,000.

Total revenue for the 2006 year were $7.5 million (compared with only $600,000 for the 2005 year), including interest income of $2.3 million ($500,000 in 2005) and a foreign exchange gain of $2.7 million ($400,000 loss).

But an unrealised gain of $4.1 million in the value of the company’s investment in fellow dual-listed explorer (and Tui Area oil project partner) Pan Pacific Petroleum was not accounted for.

NZOG’s total investments in listed resource companies amounted to $4.6 million for the 2006 year, and it had $87.5 million worth of petroleum and coal interests.

During fiscal 2006, the NZOG group invested $43.4 million in its three developments – the Kupe and Tui Area offshore Taranaki petroleum projects, and the Pike River Coal project on the West Coast of the South Island.

NZOG said first oil from the Tui Area (Tui, Amokura and Pateke oil pools) project, north of the Maui field, was still scheduled to start during the June quarter next year.

Following the positive final investment decision by NZOG and its Kupe co-venturers last June, first production from the southern offshore Taranaki field was scheduled for the first half of 2009.

The Tui partners are operator AWE NZ (42.5%), Mitsui E&P NZ (35%), NZOG (12.5%) and Pan Pacific Petroleum (10%).

The Kupe partners are operator Origin Energy (50%), Genesis Energy (31%), NZOG (15%) and Mitsui E&P NZ (4%).