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AWE takes over operatorship of D’Urville permit from Austral
30 September 2008, Source: AWE and Lindsay Clark - Active offshore Taranaki oil explorer Australian Worldwide Exploration has taken over the operatorship of a southern Taranaki Basin permit northwest of D’Urville Island at the northern tip of the South Island.
The Sydney-based company has farmed in to the PEP 38524 acquiring an 80% interest from Wellington-based Austral Pacific Energy.
Bruce Wood managing director of AWE said his company would fully fund acquisition of 350 km of 2D seismic within the permit and has assumed operatorship.
The permit area is interpreted to form an extension of the South Taranaki basin, which includes the Kupe South and Maari fields.
He said AWE views the entry into this permit as another step in the process of building a successful New Zealand business based on the highly successful Tui oil fields, which AWE operates in offshore Taranaki.
Only one well has been previously drilled within the permit area: Surville-1 was drilled in 1976 by NZ Aquitaine Petroleum near the western edge of the current permit.
