OIL

FID for Maari due by September

THE partners in New Zealands Maari prospect aim to make a final investment decision on the offsho...

The Sydney-based explorer, in its March 2005 quarterly report released to the ASX last Friday, said the Maari partners, headed by operator OMV, have determined the optimal development concept to be a wellhead platform (WHP) and floating-production-storage-offloading vessel (FPSO) combination.

Tender packages have been issued for the main components of the development, which are the WHP, FPSO and drilling contract, in order to have firm bid prices in hand before making a final financial investment decision.

Bids were expected by mid-July this year and FID by September. Horizon said design and construction was expected to run from next September to mid-2007, with first oil flowing about two years after FID.

The Environmental Impact Assessment report – which concluded there should be no significant environmental impacts from the Maari development – was favourably received by the New Zealand Government Reference Group, according to Horizon.

Maari is the largest undeveloped offshore oil field in New Zealand containing at least 50 million barrels of recoverable oil (P50) in the Miocene-aged Moki formation.

Last February Horizon said the development option for Maari should include the flexibility to tie-in the Maari M2A level reservoir and the separate nearby structure where Maui-4 flowed oil at the time of the original (1969) Maui field discovery.

In its latest report Horizon also said that it and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) had agreed on the development concept for the Wei 12-8 West field in Block 22/12 offshore China and that the development planning process was expected to be finalised around mid-year.

Horizon has spent A$438,000 on the Maari project, in which it holds a 10% interest, and A$235,000 on the Beibu Gulf block in China, in which it holds a 30% interest.

Maari partners are OMV New Zealand (operator, 69%), Todd Petroleum Mining (16%), Horizon Oil International (10%) and Highlands Oil & Gas (5%).

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