Accounts filed by Kapuni partner

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32775, 27 November 1971, Page 22

Accounts filed by Kapuni partner

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, November 26.

Returns from the Kapuni gas and condensate field make their first entry into the accounts of BP (Oil Exploration) Company of New Zealand, Ltd, for the year to December 31. The accounts were made public for the first time under the new legislation requiring overseas-owned companies to file accounts with the Companies Office.

The company is a partner with the ' Shell and Todd groups in the Kapuni field. B.P. (Oil Exploration) in its first year of trading after 14 years of exploration activity, showed a surplus of $85,559. The directors say that they were not recommending any dividend payment from this small initial surplus in view of the large unrecovered amount expended in exploration.

Exploration expenditure is listed in the balance sheet at $13.4m.

The chairman of directors, (Mr J. C. Fair) says that the joint ventures, in which the company has interests, have continued exploration work, particularly off-shore. Three farm-out agreements were entered into in the east coast, North Island area, with Beaver Exploration N.Z., the

Taranaki land area with New Zealand Aquitaine Petroleum, Ltd, and the Greymouth offshore area with New Zealand Petroleum Company, Ltd. The surplus from condensate and natural gas sales and other income , was $70,191 after production, distribution and administration costs were deducted. Depreciation of fixed assets took $284,634 leaving the $85,559 net surplus. No taxation is payable until aggregate dividends paid exceed irrecoverable expenditure incurred in exploration activities.

Shareholders’ fupds and capital are $500,000. Fixed assets were $3,267,839 after depreciation. Loans from shareholders were $16,275,505. Working capital was $168,867.