Petrocorp wins bid to secure licence

Press, 12 April 1984, Page 8

Petrocorp wins bid to secure licence

PA New Plymouth Petrocorp (exploration) has beaten two other oil companies in a bid to secure an exploration licence just north of Taranaki.

The State-owned company was awarded a licence on Monday for a five-year term, ending on April 9, 1989. The licence covers an area of 806 sq km, most of it off-shore, but with an inland stretch between Mokau and Tirau Point. The new licence was formerly part of a concession block held by Petrocorp together with the Shell BP and Todd Mining partners. When the four companies decided to extend their five-year prospecting term, they were obliged to relinquish up to half the block.

Petrocorp was awarded the licence ahead of two other contenders, the Shell BP and Todd Mining partners and the New Zealand Oil and Gas Company. According to the Ministry of Energy, the Government oil company put up the best work programme. Between now and April next year, Petrocorp is obliged to: • Acquire, process, and interpret a minimum of 100 km of seismic data within the licence.

• Reprocess 100 km of existing seismic information.

• Make a firm commitment to drill a well before April, 1986, or relinquish the licence. If it commits itself to a well, the company must drill to “an economic base-

ment” and then submit a satisfactory work programme for the rest of the five-year term or lose the licence.

Some earlier exploration work has been carried out in the area. In 1975, Shell BP and Todd used the semisubmersible rig Penrod 74 to drill Turi-1. The well was drilled about 11 nautical miles north-west of the Awakino rivermouth, but never reached its 4286 m target depth. It was declared a dry well and abandoned at 4095 m.

Petrocorp’s group general manager, Mr Jim Hogg, said from Wellington yesterday that the company would be looking for partners to take up a share of the new licence. He was not prepared to say who might be interested because “it was early days yet.”