Nelson well dry: Hunt pullout likely

Press, 29 November 1978, Page 2

Nelson well dry: Hunt pullout likely

PA Invercargill The North Tasman No. 1 veil about 65 nautical miles’ north of Nelson will be abandoned by the Penrod semi-submersible rig, meaning almost inevitably that the rig will be towed away from New Zealand. After this announcement vesterday, the resident manager of Hunt International Petroleum Company of New Zealand (Mr John Tatum): said that if further work in Ne.w Zealand emerged in the next few weeks the rig would stay but it was more likely that it would be towed away. The company said in a statement that drilling had stopped at 2727 m in granitic basement on Saturday. The hole had been prepared for abandoning at 6 am. on Monday. “The main objective, the sands of the Pakawau for-1 mation, was found to be devoid of hydrocarbons,” said; the statement. The operations manager for Aquitaine (Mr P. Allibaud) said in Nelson that work had begun on plugging, the well and clearing the seabed site. It would take a' week to clear the well and' prepare the ng for tow to its next assignment. Mr Tatum said the rig would probably be towed by] its two support vessels,;: Grizzly Bear and Polar Bear.: to Golden Bay, where it! would be made ready for the tow overseas. If much preparation was; needed it could be towed to; its southern base. Big Glory; Bay in Stewart Island’s Pa - • terson Inlet, but this was', not likely. There had been talks with 11 Australian and South-East' Asian companies about fur- j ther drilling. South-East;, Asia in particular was an,i active drilling area. < It had been hoped that more work would be found i: for the rig in New Zealand h and talks had been held with Aquitane, which had drilled;, the North Tasman well for < an estimated 53.2 M and. I Shell B.P Todd. However,;, the talks had borne no fruit. :( Hunt International has re - fused to comment on whether the tough deal driven by; the Government was a fac-, tor in ending Penrod's fouryear programme in New i Zealand. But before Hunt’s pull-out I

announcement yesterday an oilman in Nelson had predicted that “the tough stance ’ taken by Muldoon will drive . them out.” I The company hopes to restain a presence in the south, even though future drilling prospects are bleak in the Great South Basin, where a total of seven wells, all of them bearing signs of hydrocarbons, were drilled. Mr Tatum said the company hoped to keep its office in Invercargill and its store in Bluff. There were many items that would not be shipped with the rig. However, the role for the foreseeable future would be administrative. There were no plans for a resumption of drilling in the Great South Basin. A spokesman for the Minister of Energy, (Mr Gair) said yesterday that to his knowledge no talks were (planned between the Sea Hunt consortium and the! Minister on the Government’s latest tax proposals. It was changes to taxation which stopped the consortium, made up of Hunt International Petroleum. Phillips Petroleum, and other companies, from continuing its search for oil in southern ‘waters. Its programme began in the south early in 1976 after lit had drilled two wells for' Shell B.P. Todd, off the ’Taranaki coast. Drilling! ; stopped after the Hoiho No. I 1 well late last April. In May, the Government’s Petrocorp company drilled; ■ two wells using Penrod on a) sole-risk basis. Both wells! (were declared dry and abandoned. The rig was towed to Pa-i terson Inlet and made ready! for towing to Singapore but 1 plans were changed when’ Aquitaine contracted to use: it to drill the North Tasman well. The North Tasman con-! isortium consisted of Petro-i ’corp (51 per cent), Aquitaine! 1(20.17 per cent), Home Oil; Canada (11.25 per cent),: Odeco U.5.(5.04 per cent).; Beach Petroleum (3.75 per ;cent), and L. and M. Oil (3.75 per cent). Mr Tatum said the main priority was to find work ! for the rig and the situation i regarding future drilling in New Zealand waters would; then be evaluated. There) was much to evaluate in I this regard.