Oil company ‘on the edge of something’

Press, 1 September 1986, Page 9

Oil company ‘on the edge of something’

PA New Plymouth Taranaki could well have another commercial oil field at New Zealand Oil and Gas, Ltd’s, Pukearuhe wel.’ site.

flow test was made during the week-end at the company’s Pukearuhe-1 well site and the company believes further testing and another wall in the area is warranted in the next few months.

“We are on the edge of something that will necessitate another well but there is no commitment to drill at the moment,” said the operations manager, Mr Graham Mulligan. He and the company's chief geologist, Mr Steve Forder, were both in Taranaki for the weekend from Wellington. The flow test was done on the 1918-1971 metre interval and a minor amount of gas was flared and the associated petroleum was flared yesterday morning. The tested interval had

been abandoned as being non-commercial but the results were significant and the company, together with the other partners, would conduct a second flow test over the shallower interval (1230 m to 1268 m) probably on Wednesday this week. The well reached its target depth of 3188 m but did not penetrate the Kapuni sandstone formation, Mr Mulligan said.

“However, we are quite delighted to see any flow considering the non-po-rous rock we were in,” he said.

Mr Forder raid it appeared that hydrocarbons were flowing from a deeper Miccene randstone up to the non-porous rock. There was communication between the fractures.

Mr Mulligan did not know when the second well would be drilled in the region but he said it was likely to be after the JFP-Eleven jack-up rig had drilled offshore Hawera for N.Z.O.G.

Drilling that well was due to start about midOctober and last a month.

They were not necessarily expecting a commercial find at Pukearuhe bet there were strong indications that further exploration in the region could be worth while. A second well would cost about $1 million

The partners in the venture, B.P. Oil and Cluff Oil, had opted out of testing Pukearuhe-1 and the remaining partners had the testing done on a “sole-risk basis,” Mr Muligan raid.