Oil licences on offer

Press, 28 May 1981, Page 9

Oil licences on offer

PA Invercargill The Government will soon advertise for oil explorers wishing to take up prospecting licences in the vast areas of the Great South Basin not held by the Hunt International Petroleum Company.

Already at least two organisations have indicated interest in the areas.

Big areas of the highly prospective Great South Basin will be advertised within the next few weeks, and oil explorers will be invited to submit applications for several concession blocks in the offshore areas stretching down the east coast from Banks Peninsula to south of the South Island, including areas adjoining

those held by Hunt International Petroleum. The Government and Hunt reached agreement last month on what amounted to the second stage of a sevenyear programme. It entails additional seismological study of the seven wells drilled by Hunt between 1975 and 1978. but next April the Government expects the Dal-las-based company and its partners to put forward a works programme, including more drilling. Initially, Hunt had 250,000 square miles of licence area, and before it started drilling, a marine seismic survey covered about 26,000 linemiles. However, since Hunt’s

agreement with the Government was renegotiated last year, the licence area has been reduced 80 per cent, and other explorers will be invited to take up the licences.

Sixteen new petroleum prospecting licences were announced earlier this month by the Minister of Energy (Mr Birch) for a big area off the west coast of New Zealand, from Kawhia in the North Island to north of Greymouth. A spokesman for Mr Birch said that applications for the east coast areas would follow the same procedure. The Ministry of Energy was now putting together maps showing the areas

available and other “detailed back-up,” the spokesman said.

Once all the information was approved by the Government, the areas would be advertised in New Zealand and overseas. Probably six months would be allowed for proposals to come in, and they would be evaluated for a month to six weeks after that.

The advertising might start within the next one to three weeks, the spokesman said.