GNS Science project manager Chris Uruski told PetroleumNews.net that his team had recently finished analysing all available data from existing 2D seismic shot over the deepwater basin to the west and northwest of Taranaki.
Uruski said GNS Science had identified the first structure – an 80 square kilometre structure that sat on the edge of the Continental Shelf – that could hold 1 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
“That’s just the start,” he said.
“There are other indications of other bigger structures, at least 12, that have the potential to hold even more hydrocarbons, given seepage from source rocks, a trapping mechanism and reservoir closure.”
He said GNS and deepwater Taranaki licence holder Global Resource Holdings had decided to name all the structures, trends and plays after New Zealand sheep.
They had named the first structure the Corriedale Prospect and others the Merino Trend and Romney Play.
Uruski said if there was 30m of good reservoir rock spread across the 80sq.km Corriedale Prospect, which could mean a billion-barrel oil find.
He said the deepwater Taranaki basin structures were very similar to those found in the Great South Basin, off the bottom of the South Island.
GNS Science is acting as the technical evaluator of all current and future data, including some yet-to-be-acquired seismic, for Denver-based Global Resource Holdings, which owns 100% of licence PEP 38451.
Uruski said the next stage in evaluating the basin was to shoot more seismic surveys, probably early next year, to better define trends, plays and prospects.
Global has a commitment with Crown Minerals to acquire about 3100km of 2D seismic data in the next year or so.
“It’s an exciting basin,” Uruski said.
“It looks extremely prospective and I can’t understand why other companies are not looking at it.”
Global managing partner Randall Thompson said he believed several of the structures identified so far could contain as much as 3 billion barrels of oil and several of the structures were analogous in style to those in various Asian productive basins.
GNS and Global held a one-day seminar on the petroleum potential of the basin last Friday at GNS Science’s offices in Lower Hutt near Wellington.
Global has also opened its data room on the permit for about a month at GNS Science’s offices for companies looking to farm-in to Global’s 100% equity position.
Late last year, Global contracted British firm Nigel Press Associates to conduct a satellite oil seep detection survey over its large (55,830sq.km) licence.
“The proposed forward work program is designed to bring identified prospects to drillable status and confirm the interpretation surrounding hydrocarbon oil generation with world-class reserves,” Thompson said.
