Earlier this month there were sustained rumours that, after a year of complicated and prolonged discussions, the Maui talks had broken down - scuttling plans to tear up the 1973 White Paper and agree on new production profiles and gas prices.

This would have seen delivery of new underwritten quantities of gas and allowed further investment in the field to maximise recovery and field life.

There were also rumours that methanol manufacturer Methanex had been going to get entitlements to more gas, probably another 20 Petajoules or so from the Ihi prospect within the Maui field.

Commentators were saddened, but not surprised, by the rumours - “given the behaviour of some participants, it was always going to be a huge wall to climb to get everyone into to the ‘win-win’ field,” said one.

However, another said he believed it was only the draft procedures that could not be agreed on and that a final solution was still being sought.

Then Methanex New Zealand managing director Harvey Weake told EnergyReview.Net earlier this week that talks were continuing. “It is likely there will be a resolution next month.”

Commentators were very pleased with this Methanex confirmation. “All the elements are there and, hopefully, we will now see a speedy resolution that will add certainty and security of supply to this nation,” said one.

Two years ago the Maui parties - Shell NZ, Todd Energy, OMV, Methanex, NGC and Contact Energy - called in an independent expert to reassess Maui gas reserves and last February Netherland Sewell and Associates International told them that only 370PJ of gas remained “at current contract prices”, less than two years’ national usage.

Maui reserves are updated each January, so, with an additional year’s production history, particularly from a few key wells, Shell, Todd and OMV should now have a far clearer picture of ultimate recovery from the field and remaining reserves than even NSAI did.

It is also known that an agreement of principles was reached mid -2003, with the preferred solution being to sign a Heads of Agreement later last year.