Exploration: Oil Production Becoming An Export Mainstay
July 13th, 2010
An insight into the value of oil production to the NZ economy came with the disclosure the Tui offshore oilfield has yielded 28.15mmbbls of oil since it was commissioned in July 2007, contributing more than $3bn to the country’s export earnings. Tui operator AWE confirmed the second of two exploration wells planned in the Tui licence area had been spudded in and is drilling ahead. The first well, Tui SW-2, found hydrocarbons but they were not commercially exploitable. The second well, Kahu-1, is testing another potential reservoir which, if it taps oil in commercial quantities, could be tied back to Tui’s production facilities. Once Kahu is drilled, the Kan Tan 1V semi-submersible rig will move south closer to D’Urville Island to drill the Tuatara well for AWE. The rig will then be released to Origin Energy to drill two exploration wells Korimako-1 and Tarapunga-1 in the offshore Northland Basin. Overall it’s estimated the drilling campaign undertaken by the Kan Tan 1V rig since it arrived in NZ waters earlier this year will have cost the explorers about $300m by the time the programme is completed.
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