New Zealand manager Clyde Bennett, recruited from the government’s Crown Minerals unit in 2003, will leave the same day the office closes.

Tap will then run all remaining New Zealand activities from its Perth headquarters.

When Bennett joined Tap, the company was active in, and operated some of, about nine onshore Taranaki permits. But after several disappointing shallow wells, Tap sold all these to Canadian independent TAG Oil and Austral Pacific Energy early last year.

Tap’s offshore efforts have so far been singularly unsuccessful.

It failed to encounter significant hydrocarbons three years ago with the Tawatawa-1 wildcat in the former licence PEP 38333 off the East Coast and its last well, the offshore Canterbury Cutter-1 wildcat in PEP 38259, failed to find anything worthwhile in the targeted Shag Point Formation in late 2006.

But the PEP 38259 joint venture – operator Tap (40%), Australian Worldwide Exploration (25%), Beach Petroleum (20%) and Anzon (15%) – has further plans for the licence, perhaps drilling the larger Barque prospect during 2008-09.

Tap’s other offshore interest is PEP 38496, a licence some industry observers say could prove to be a northward extension of an onshore-offshore play centred around the near-shore Taranaki Pohokura gas-condensate field. Tap holds a 37.5% stake in and operates PEP 38496, along with government-owned Mighty River Power (25%) and Flinder Exploration (37.5%).

Company chief executive Paul Underwood told PetroleumNews.net, that Tap was seeking more high-impact targets in its exploration portfolio.

“We just do not see the prospectivity in New Zealand and we are focusing on proven hydrocarbon provinces,” he said. “I am sure there will be more discoveries in New Zealand but they will not be easily won.”