CAPITAL: Wellington
MONETARY UNIT: Dollar
REFINING CAPACITY: 91,200 b/cd
OIL PRODUCTION: 62,000 b/d
OIL RESERVES: 145 million bbl
GAS RESERVES: 2.4 tcf
Fletcher Challenge Energy Taranaki Ltd. conducted an extended flow test in 1997 of an onshore gas discovery expected to lift drilling in New Zealand`s Taranaki basin.
The Mangahewa 2 well, just west of McKee oil and gas field, cut Eocene Kapuni Mangahewa pay below 12,000 ft. It flowed from commingled middle and upper zones at rates of 11.4 MMcfd of gas, 150 b/d of condensate, and 24 b/d of water at 4,736 psi flowing tubing pressure through an 18/64 in choke. On a later test it flowed 17.5 MMcfd of gas, 223 b/d of condensate, and 48 b/d of water.
The company was considering a seismic survey and planned to drill two wells in 1998.
Offshore, New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. (NZOG) processed seismic and prepared to conduct exploratory drilling on its West of Maui permit area. It finished interpretation of data from a 3D seismic survey on a permit, east of the Maui gas and condensate complex, that includes Toru, Kupe, and South Kupe fields. The company said early interpretation indicated that reserves in Toru and South Kupe might be greater than earlier estimates.
Production from NGOZ`s onshore Ngatoro field on North Island, first field to produce under a hybrid royalty scheme offered by the government to encourage exploration and development, rose to about 1,500 b/d early in 1997.
