2010

Tui partners suspend Tui SW-2 and now move to Kahu-1

25 June 2010 - One of the partners in the exploration programme near the Tui oil field confirmed that the exploration well Tui SW-2 had been suspended to determine the potential use as a gas injection well.

Glass Earth and Newmont discover new gold quartz vein structure at WKP gold prospect north of Waihi

29 July 2010 - Newmont Waihi Gold and joint venture partner Glass Earth Gold Limited have located a significant 156 metre-long intercept containing gold and silver at the Wharekirauponga (WKP) prospect 10km north of Waihi.

Seafield Ship with Rig

The MarSol Pride with Seafield Resources core sampling rig raised on stern of vessel.

Introducing Kevin Rolens

8 September 2010 - It is great to announce the appointment of Kevin Rolens as the new Petroleum Manager for Crown Minerals. Kevin starts in his new role on 14 September.

FMG Pacific plan to explore for coal over two exploration permits in the Greymouth coalfield region

30 July 2010 - FMG Pacific Ltd, a subsidiary of the Perth-based iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group, has been awarded two coal exploration permits in the Greymouth coalfield.

Regular maintenance window to change

05 January 2010 - From Sunday, 17th January 2010 Crown Minerals will be carrying out the routine maintenance of its site on a Sunday night. This will replace our traditional Monday night maintenance window.

Big boost for Reefton resources

19 April 2010 - The potential of discoveries made several years ago south of the Globe-Progress mine in the Reefton Goldfield were given a shot in the arm with the latest drilling results.

L&M’s Ohai CSG coal fully saturated

4 August 2010 - Lab testing of coal core from L&M Energy’s promising OM-4 well near Ohai in Western Southland has confirmed that the coal is fully saturated with gas.

Gas price for Contact hits $9 a GJ

14 September 2010 - Contact Energy says the average cost of natural gas it bought for use in power generation rose by 18% to $9 a gigajoule in the latest financial year.

Heritage Gold granted Talisman mining permit

11 January 2010 - Auckland-based mineral explorer Heritage Gold plans to develop underground Talisman gold mine near Waihi following the award of a mining permit.

Pohokura wins sustainable development and innovation award

10 August 2010 - The Pohokura gas condensate project operated and owned by Shell Exploration, OMV NZ and Todd Energy has been awarded an Environmental Award by one of its regulators the Taranaki Regional Council.

OceanaGold lifts gold reserves by 617,000 oz

12 January 2010 - OceanaGold Corporation has announced an increase of approximately 617,000 ounces of gold to the mineral reserves of its Macraes and Reefton gold operations in the South Island.

Government consulting on Petroleum Reserves

12 August 2010 - Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee has released a New Zealand Petroleum Reserves options paper aimed at improving the quality of information available about petroleum reserves.

Extending knowledge of the deep south

7 July 2010 - New and reprocessed data over the Campbell Plateau and Bounty Trough now available from Crown Minerals.

Notice to extend acreage in the Offshore Canterbury Basin and Great South Basin to be unavailable for priority in time (PIT) applications

6 July 2010 - From Tuesday 6 July 2010 area of the Great South Basin and Canterbury Basin identified in the map below are closed for PIT petroleum permit applications until further notice.

Major petroleum project begins

25 May 2010 - The government today announced a major two-year work programme aimed at promoting oil and gas exploration around New Zealand.

Petroleum Exploration and Geosciences Initiative (PEGI) Project

26 May 2010 - Crown Minerals has executed a contract with GNS Science for delivery of the Petroleum Exploration and Geosciences Initiative (PEGI) project, a major two year work programme aimed at the promotion of oil and gas exploration around New Zealand.

Petrobras awarded big exploration permit

1 June 2010 - Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee today awarded New Zealand’s first petroleum exploration permit over the Raukumara Basin off the North Island’s East Coast to Petrobras International Braspetro B.V.

Tui oil field produces 4.8 mmbbls in year; plans one workover

14 July 2010 - The Tui oil field in offshore Taranaki produced 4.83 million barrels in the financial year to 30 June 2010, operator AWE Ltd reports.

No land to be removed from Schedule 4

20 July 2010 - Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee and Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson announced today that the government has decided not to remove any land from Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act for the purposes of further mineral exploration or extraction.

New Zealand’s Reinga Basin opened for oil and gas exploration

20 January 2010 - Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee today announced the opening of bidding for six new petroleum exploration blocks across the Reinga Basin off the northwest coast of New Zealand.

2010 New Zealand Petroleum Conference call for papers

11 February 2010 - The call for papers for the 2010 New Zealand Petroleum Conference has has now begun, with abstracts due 29 March 2010.

Petroleum conference keynote speaker, Farouk Al-Kasim

9 June 2010 - One of the keynote speakers for the New Zealand Petroleum Conference has a wealth of experience in the petroleum sector and a large part of it was in two climatic extremes – the Middle East and Scandinavia.

Onshore Taranaki Kahili block offer opens

10 February 2010 - Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee today announced the opening of bidding for a block offer over the onshore Kahili gas field in Taranaki.

2010 New Zealand Petroleum Conference

16 June 2010 - Crown Minerals has released the high-level programme for this year’s New Zealand Petroleum Conference, to be held on September 19-22 at the SKYCITY Convention Centre in Auckland.

Eastern negotiates 10 year Southland coal contract with Fonterra

5 February 2010 - Brisbane-based coal miner Eastern Corporation Ltd has finalised negotiations for extending its current thermal coal sales contract with Fonterra’s South Canterbury dairy processing plant to 10 years.

OceanaGold announces record production and the addition of gold reserves

10 February 2010 - New Zealand’s largest gold mining company OceanaGold has produced over 300,000 oz of gold in a year for the first time.

Todd begins construction of $65m Taranaki LPG plant

4 February 2010 - Todd Energy has begun building a $65 million LPG plant at its Mangahewa-McKee production station site in Taranaki.

Comet Ridge geophysics for CSG identifies major sub-basins

6 May 2010 - Brisbane-based coal seam gas explorer Comet Ridge says its regional aeromagnetic and radiometric surveys in its Buller and Waikato permits have identified major sub-basins as well as obtaining structural information.

Kan Tan IV semi-sub rig for AWE delayed until late February

4 February 2010 - The semisubmersible offshore rig, Kan Tan IV, that AWE Ltd is bringing to New Zealand for a multi-well drilling campaign has been delayed in Bass Strait and is now expected to arrive in Taranaki in late February.

Prime Minister, Hon John Key's, Statement to Parliament

9 February - Today the Prime Minister, Hon John Key, presented his Statement to Parliament where he outlines the Government's main priorities for the year ahead.

OMV JV shooting more 2D seismic in Great South Basin

3 February 2010 - The OMV-led Great South Basin joint venture has begun a second round of seismic data acquisition of smaller focused areas of interest revealed by the larger 2007-08 seismic survey in three permits south of Southland and Otago.

Pike River expects 40% coal price rise as first exports to begin

6 February 2010 - Pike River Coal which expects to ship its first export of coal this month is anticipating that world coking coal prices could rise by as much as 40% from April this year.

Kea to drill first well Wingrove-2 in early April

7 April 2010 - Kea Petroleum Plc plans to begin drilling its first well Wingrove-2 in early April to be followed immediately by Kea’s deep gas Beluga-1 well.

TAG acquires Kawakawa oil shale prospect in East Coast Basin

12 February 2010 - Canadian-based TAG Oil Ltd, which recently merged with Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd, has extended its permit holdings to cover an anticline in northern Wairarapa with a potential formation of fractured oil shale up to 600 m thick.

Kupe project commissioning makes swift progress

11 February 2010 - The $1.3 billion Kupe gas project commissioning has progressed swiftly with the plant expected to reach permanent production status by March.

NZOG granted new permit offshore north Taranaki

17 February 2010 - New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd has been awarded a new exploration permit in the offshore north Taranaki Basin.

Solid Energy drills for coal seam gas in inland Taranaki

18 February 2010 - Solid Energy is extending its coal seam gas exploratory drilling programme in inland Taranaki to focus on an area around 70 km from Stratford.

Workover drill rig installed on Maari platform

18 February 2010 - A permanent workover drill rig was installed on the Maari oil field wellhead platform offshore Taranaki in January to allow repairs and maintenance on the production wells.

NZ Refining opens $10m marine fuel facility for Auckland port

1 March 2010 - NZ Refining Company has opened a new $10 million marine fuel oil facility at the port of Auckland to serve the commercial and cruise liner market.

GNS Science sees positive signs for Reinga Basin

8 March 2010 - GNS Science says that seismic and satellite data show that the Reinga Basin, off the northwest coast of the North Island, is one of the most prospective frontier basins in the New Zealand region.

Kan Tan IV semi-sub rig arrives at Hoki-1 drill site off Taranaki

9 March 2010 - The Kan Tan IV semi-submersible drilling rig has arrived at the Hoki-1 exploration wellsite from Australia and is preparing to start drilling, operator AWE Ltd reported.

L&M Energy completes acquisition of L&M

10 March 2010 - Sharemarket listed L&M Energy Ltd has successfully completed its acquisition of L&M Coal Seam Gas Ltd.

NZOG expects strong cashflows from Kupe

11 March 2010 - New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd (NZOG) says it expects the Kupe gas condensate field to provide the Wellington-based company with a long term annual revenue stream of around $60-65 million.

Strong oil reservoir performance from Tui field

12 March 2010 - The Tui oil field in offshore Taranaki experienced strong reservoir production performance in the December 2009 quarter, operator AWE Ltd says.

Contact’s three additional Ahuroa storage wells near completion

13 March 2010 - Three additional wells for Contact Energy’s Ahuroa gas storage project are nearly completed drilling, the company says.

NZ methanol production at highest level in many years

13 March 2010 - Methanol production in New Zealand last year reached its highest level in many years indicating a greater use of natural gas to make the chemical feedstock.

Kupe Gas Project opened

18 March 2010 - The $1.3 billion Kupe Gas Project in Taranaki was officially opened by the Prime Minister John Key today.

Submissions open for review of Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act 1991.

22 March 2010 - In August 2009, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Department of Conservation were directed by Ministers to complete a stocktake of public conservation areas listed in Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act 1991. Schedule 4 restricts mineral-related activity in specified public conservation areas.

Notice of Land Closure for All Permitting for Metallic Minerals and Coal

22 March 2010

Kent finds encouraging gold assays from Alexander River near Reefton

30 March 2010 - Kent Exploration Inc has reported encouraging initial results from gold trenching and sampling from its Alexander River permit approximately 20 km south of Oceana Gold's Globe Progress gold mine at Reefton.

Alloy engages mineral sands specialist for Barrytown project

30 March 2010 - Perth-based mineral explorer, Alloy Resources Ltd, which is exploring the Barrytown mineral sands prospect onshore north of Greymouth on the West Coast says the target is estimated to contain approximately 80 -100 million tonnes @ 11 – 13% ilmenite.

TAG Oil aims at increasing Cheal field production

6 April 2010 - TAG Oil Ltd, which now controls 100% of the Cheal oil and gas field in onshore Taranaki, has begun optimisation work aimed at increasing daily production and increasing its reserve base in the secondary Urenui Formation.

Shell finalises $695m sale of NZ downstream assets to Infratil

8 April 2010 - Royal Dutch Shell plc has finalised the sale of its downstream assets in New Zealand to a local consortium of infrastructure company Infratil and Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation Fund for a cash payment of NZ$696.5 million.

Natural gas prices rise 12% to $7.41 per GJ, Contact says

8 April 2010 - The price of natural gas has continued to rise with Contact Energy, reporting that average cost of the fuel reached $7.41 a GJ in the second half of 2009.

L&M Energy successful with two South Waikato CSG wells

8 April 2010 - L&M Energy Ltd has located coal measures in two previously unexplored parts of its large South Waikato coal seam gas permit.

Hoki-1 drilling resumes after rig mast repaired

9 April 2010 - Drilling operations at the Hoki-1 exploration being drilled by operator AWE Ltd in offshore Taranaki have resumed after some essential repairs on the Kan Tan IV rig’s drilling mast.

TAG encouraged by Waitangi Hill-2 gas and oil signs on East Coast

16 April 2010 - TAG Oil Ltd has experienced a strong ‘oil-wet’ gas kick and found ‘free oil’ in core samples of its Waitangi-2 stratigraphic well in its onshore northern East Coast Basin permit.

Hydraulic workover unit now working on Maui A

16 April 2010 - A second multi million dollar workover programme has begun work on the Maui A platform on the offshore Maui gas and condensate field and will continue throughout 2010.

Australian coal junior Bathurst begins feasibility study on Buller coal

23 April 2010 - Perth-based junior has signed an agreement with L&M Coal to joint venture and ultimately acquire two Buller coking coal prospects around the Stockton Plateau.

New exploration interest in offshore phosphate deposits

26 April 2010 - New exploration interest is developing in ocean floor deposits of phosphate nodules on the relatively shallow Chathams Rise which extends east of the South Island to the Chatham Islands.

L&M Energy discovers gassy coal at depth near Ohai

27 April 2010 - One of the deepest wells reported in New Zealand coal seam gas exploration has found thick deep sequences of gassy coal near Ohai in western Southland in PEP 38220.

Rig moves to Tui SW-1 after Hoki-1 well finds no hydrocarbons

27 April 2010 - AWE Ltd reports it has plugged and abandoned the Hoki-1 well in PEP 38401 offshore Taranaki Basin after finding no significant hydrocarbon indications.

Kea discovers oil-bearing sands at Wingrove-2

28 April 2010 - Start-up petroleum explorer Kea Petroleum has discovered oil-bearing sandstones and another deeper zone with “very high levels” of hydrocarbon gasses indicating oil in its first well Wingrove-2 in PEP 51153, onshore Taranaki.

Schedule 4 submission period extended

30 April 2010 - Minister of Energy and Resources Gerry Brownlee and Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson have announced an extension to the public submission period on the government’s proposals outlined on March 22 in the discussion paper Maximising our Mineral Potential: Stocktake of Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act and beyond.

Newmont begins Martha east cutback; proposes 200,000 oz Trio mine

30 April 2010 - Newmont Waihi Gold is going ahead with the mining of the eastern wall cutback of the Martha open pit mine and is also proposing a 200,000 oz underground Trio mine accessed from the present Favona mine.

OceanaGold discovers more gold down dip from Frasers underground mine

5 May 2010 - OceanaGold Corporation’s surface drilling has discovered more gold down dip from its Frasers underground mine.

Kupe field produces over 4 PJ of gas in its first quarter

7 May 2010 - The Kupe gas and oil field in its first full three months of operation to March 31 produced 4.47 petajoules of sales though it was not until 22 March that Kupe completed its extensive commissioning programme.

AWE confirms drilling of Tuatara-1 well off South Island

7 May 2010 - Sydney-based oil explorer AWE Ltd has confirmed that it expects to drill the Tuatara-1 well at the south of the Taranaki Basin adjacent to D’Urville Island at the north of the South Island.

Solid Energy export coal prices up 50% to US$200/t; Spring Creek output likely to rise to 600,000/t this year

10 May 2010 - Solid Energy has negotiated a 50 per cent rise in export coking coal prices to around US$200 a tonne (about NZ$274 a tonne) in line with recent international coal price trends.

Seafield successfully core drills offshore West Coast gold prospect

13 May 2010 - The first round of pioneering offshore test core drilling for placer gold, and other heavy minerals off the West Coast of the South Island has just been completed by Seafield Resources.

Coal depth now 40 metres in Ohai OM-4 CSG well; L&M confident of commercial gas production

14 May 2010 - Logging of L&M Petroleum’s OM-4 coal seam gas well at Ohai in western Southland has increased the depth of coal seams intersected to 40 m from the original 29 m originally reported.

Maari platform workover unit has busy programme ahead

14 May 2010 - The permanent workover rig recently installed on the Maari oil field platform has a number of tasks to perform in the near future.

Bathurst aims for late 2011 production from Buller coalfield

14 May 2010 - Perth-based coal developer Bathurst Resources Ltd says it plans to begin a new export coking and thermal coal export mine from Buller by late 2011.

Placer Gold International to join Glass Earth in Otago mining

17 May 2010 - Glass Earth Gold Ltd has signed a letter of intent with Placer Gold International Corp. to develop two placer targets in two adjacent prospects in central Otago.

Newmont begins drilling Wharekirauponga prospect north of Waihi

17 May 2010 - Newmont Waihi Gold recently began drilling at the Wharekirauponga (‘WKP’) gold prospect about 10 km north of Waihi.

Origin drills first of three Manutahi oil wells in Kauri field

17 May 2010 - Origin Energy has begun drilling three development wells into the Manutahi oil reservoir in the onshore Kauri field.

NZOG acquiring offshore south Taranaki regional seismic

17 May 2010 - Wellington-based New Zealand Oil & Gas is acquiring a series of regional seismic lines across the offshore south Taranaki Basin including traverses across its recently defined Kaupokonui prospect in NZOG’s 100% owned PEP 51311.

Solid Energy places big order for upgrade of Stockton mining fleet

30 May 2010 - Solid Energy has placed a second large order for mobile plant and equipment for its Stockton opencast coking coal mine near Westport.

Solid Energy looks at turning lignite into oil and upgraded coal

30 May 2010 - Solid Energy has secured the New Zealand rights to technology to turn low energy lignite feedstocks directly into synthetic crude oil and high grade coal.

Solid Energy plans $22m Underground Coal Gasification pilot in Waikato

11 June 2010 - Solid Energy has announced plans to build a $22 million test pilot project to generate gas by gasification of coal deep underground in the Waikato.

Gas shows found at Kea’s Beluga-1 well

18 June 2010 - Kea Petroleum has reported gas shows from its onshore Taranaki deep well Beluga-1.

TAG well stimulation increases flows at Cheal A7

2 June 2010 - TAG Oil Ltd has substantially increased oil flows from its Cheal A7 well at its onshore Taranaki field following fracture stimulation at the company’s Cheal oil and gas field.

Roc Oil JV awarded Kaheru permit off south Taranaki

3 June 2010 - Sydney-based Roc Oil (New Zealand) Ltd and three partners have been awarded a permit over the Kaheru prospect off the south Taranaki coast.

AWE brings in two partners for Tuatara-1

4 June 2010 - Sydney-based oil explorer AWE Ltd has brought in two partners Kea Petroleum and Roc Oil as partners for the drilling of the Tuatara-1 well near D’Urville Island in the next few months.

Comet Ridge moves to test first CSG pilot well on West Coast

28 June 2010 - Brisbane-based Comet Ridge Ltd has completed and fitted for production testing its first coal seam gas pilot well in New Zealand, the Macdonald 4P well near Greymouth.

Kea Petroleum plans to drill sidetracks later at Beluga

29 June 2010 - Kea Petroleum has suspended its onshore Taranaki Beluga-1 well, where earlier gas shows were reported, and will later drill a sidetrack into two potentially more productive targets.

Communication from Maritime New Zealand

2 July - A communication from Maritime New Zealand to the NZ oil and gas sector: Hull defouling and decommissioning of offshore installations.

New Zealand Energy Data File 2010 released

2 July 2010 - New Zealand’s leading record of annual energy data shows a year-on-year increase in renewable electricity generation of eight per cent, Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee announced today.

NZ Petroleum Conference speaker profile: William Buechler

5 July - Introducing William Buechler, resource sector investor and advocate, will be a keynote speaker at this years conference, 19-22 September, SkyCity, Auckland

L&M Energy raises $8.5m for developing Southland CSG supplies

2 July 2010 - Wellington-based L&M Energy has raised A$7 million (about NZ$8.5 million) for production testing and booking of 2P coal seam gas reserves in Western Southland and further exploration drilling in the area.

Major iron ore resource discovered in Trans-Tasman Resources offshore ironsands project

8 July 2010 - New Zealand company Trans-Tasman Resources Ltd has disclosed it has discovered a major offshore ironsands resource off the West Coast of the North Island.

Efficient NZ steel mill could ship cheap steel to China, offshore ironsand explorer says

9 July 2010 - A new New Zealand steel mill using cheap offshore ironsands could export semi-processed steel to China cheaper than coastal Chinese mills can produce, ironsands explorer Trans-Tasman Resources says.

Galilee (formerly Eastern Corp) may float NZ coal business

2 July 2010 - Galilee Energy Ltd, formerly known as Eastern Corporation Ltd, is considering a partial float of its New Zealand coal assets to finance further exploration and development.

Glass Earth plans more drilling at Muirs Reef gold target

2 July 2010 - Wellington-based gold exploration company Glass Earth Gold Ltd plans a major drilling programme at its Muirs Reef gold prospect in the Bay of Plenty following the completion of a C$2,730,100 (approx NZ$3,700,000) private funding placement.

OceanaGold lifts spending on Reefton exploration and looks again at Sams Creek

3 July 2010 - Melbourne-based gold miner OceanaGold Corporation has announced a large increase in exploration spending to investigate underground mining at the Reefton goldfield and carry out further work on its Sams Creek prospect in the Nelson area.

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