Project Profile
Value: Undisclosed
Location: Permit 38349 in Taranaki Basin, New Zealand
Start-up Year: -
Reserves: Cardiff: 160 bcf of gas in place and 5.5 million barrels of condensate in place
Supplejack: 2.8 bcf of natural gas in place
Production: 3 million cubic feet and 100 barrels of condensate (light oil) per day
Water depth: 4,900 to 5,100 metres
Area: 1,268,144 acres
The Cardiff Gas/Condensate Discovery has the potential to become a substantial and strategic onshore resource. The Cardiff structure has been identified as a large anticlinal trap, some 12 km long by 3 km wide, with multiple pay zones within the Kapuni Sands Formation. Cardiff is situated on trend and among several sizable deep gas/condensate discoveries in the Taranaki Basin, including the nearby landmark Kapuni Field, New Zealand\'s first major onshore discovery, and the prolific Mangahewa and Pohokura gas fields. Gas with rich condensates was discovered at Cardiff within the upper Kapuni zone, which encountered 12m of net pay and flowed at over 3 million cubic feet and 100 barrels of condensate (light oil) per day with improving rates observed on long-term testing. This zone can be identified on 3D seismic to be a prospective target across the span of the Cardiff structure. Furthermore, even greater resource potential exists in the deeper K1A and K3E zones, where strong gas shows were recorded over a gross 600m interval.
New Zealand\'s strong gas demand with tight gas supply makes Cardiff a strategic asset in the heart of extensive infrastructure.) Access to market for Cardiff gas is relatively straightforward, being situated just 3-km from a tie-in to TAG-owned gas infrastructure. This tie-in provides a link to the high-capacity LTS gas pipeline and the thriving North Island gas market. This acquisition comes at a time of strong demand, tightening supply and record-high contract gas prices in New Zealand, providing a number of commercial opportunities for developing Cardiff gas.
Development of Cardiff targeting the various gas/condensate zones will include rapidly advancing drilling technologies developed specifically for tight-sand gas reservoirs. Porosities and permeabilities found within the multiple Kapuni Sands Formation zones encountered in the Cardiff-1 (5050m total depth), Cardiff-2 and Cardiff-2A sidetrack (4931m total depth) wells are analogous to prolific tight-sand formations found in Germany, Holland, the North Sea and numerous basins in the U.S. and Canada, where these technologies have been successful in achieving dramatic increases to flow rates and overall reserve recovery.
Operator:
Tag Oil: Operator with 100% interest