A total of 34 consent applications have been filed with the Taranaki Regional Council or New Plymouth District Council, covering land-based well drilling, LPG storage construction at Omata or Port Taranaki, production station development at Motunui, as well as offshore mini platforms and associated pipelines.

STOS external affairs manager Fred McLay said that while final concept approval had yet to be given, STOS was applying for the resource consents necessary for a full-blown field development.

STOS Pohokura concept studies co-ordinator, Malcolm Beaumont, told the 2002 New Zealand Petroleum Conference in March that another Pohokura South well should be drilled from April and deviated offshore from near the Methanex Motunui plant, while a drill ship was due in August to drill a well in the north of the field.

Up to three mini-platforms, one in each of the near-shore, middle and northern limits of the field, were possible, with up to 300,000 tonnes per annum of LPG being produced, depending on the volume of sales gas produced.

Up to 80 barrels of stabilised condensate would be produced for every million cubic feet of raw gas extracted. Light naphtha was another potential product.

Pohokura is New Zealand's second largest gas resource after Maui and is expected to contain at least 1tcf of gas and 54 million barrels of condensate. The field is expected to last 10-20 years, with production coming onstream from early 2005, at producton rates varying from 60PJ-120PJ per annum.