NZOG hopeful on new oil prospect

Press, 1 December 1987, Page 50

NZOG hopeful on new oil prospect

NZ New Plymouth Oil and gas prospects identified in the offshore KupeKapuni formation might contain greater reserves than those so far discovered in the Kupe South field, says the chairman of New Zealand Oil and Gas, Mr Tony Radford. In the annual report, he says the company could be reasonably optimistic that Kupe South will prove to be a commercially sound development proposition. Kupe South, 35km offshore from Hawera, has produced condensate-rich gas since it was first drilled last November.

Detailed estimates put the field’s potential at 60 million barrels of oil and 300 m cu ft of recoverable gas. “It Is well worth recognising that other prospects along the Kupe-Kapuni trend may contain substantially greater reserves,” Mr Radford says. “The prospect of developing a strong cash flow from production within the licence is therefore very likely.” The Kupe South field formed only one of a number of potential oil and gas traps situated, on the north-south trend (the Kupe-Kapuni anticline) which ran through the licence into the onshore area to the north, Mr Radford

said. "The most notable of the other targets defined to date is the Rua prospect which lies adjacent to Kupe South on its southern side, and the Toru prospect which is due north of Kupe South, only 15km offshore.” Both of these prospects warranted drilling in the near future, as each had the potential to yield substantially larger reserves than the Kupe South field. "The possibilities for profitable petroleum production from this licence area are therefore considered to be very high,” he says.