Project Profile
Location: Taranaki Basin, New Zealand
Area: 85km2
Reserves: 1.3-40 MMbbl
Exploration start-up:- 2017
The PEP51153 permit covers an area of approximately 85km2 (21,000 acres) and is located in the productive onshore Taranaki Basin of New Zealand. PEP51153 contains the Pukatea prospect and the suspended Puka oil field. The Pukatea prospect is estimated to hold between 1.3 million and 40 million barrels of prospective resources, with a best estimate of 12.4 million barrels. The Pukatea Prospect is a Tikorangi Limestone target, located directly below the Puka Mount Messenger oil pool. The trap is a plunging compressional fold formed by graben inversion at the leading edge of the Taranaki Fault System. The Douglas-1 well drilled in 2012 at the edge of the Pukatea prospect penetrated 145m of the reservoir interval in a down plunge position, recording oil shows in the upper section, before encountering a series of large fractures which resulted in lost circulation and caused drilling operations to terminate. Subsequent testing of the interval was inconclusive as the perforated liner effectively blocked off the interval with oil shows when the liner could not be run to its design depth. As a result, the possibility that the shows represent an Oil-Water contact in the Douglas well still remains.
The PEP51153 operator TAG Oil and partner Melbana Energy have approved the drilling of the Pukatea-1 well. Set to be completed by 23 February 2018, Pukatea-1 will commence drilling in Q3-Q4 2017. The Pukatea prospect is a high impact exploration opportunity, targeting a highly productive conventional reservoir. The joint venture estimated the prospective resources to range from 1.3-40 MMbbl .
Operators:
Tag Oil: 70% interest
Melbana Energy (formerly MEO Australia) - 30% interest