Drilling for Tight Gas to Commence in New Zealand's Kapuni Gas Field

Kapuni gas field, the oldest in New Zealand, will see the beginning of a drilling campaign for exploration of tight gas.

Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS), the field's operating company, has been forced to sit on its hands for several weeks waiting for an appeal period to lapse over the issuing of South Taranaki District Council land use consents for the drilling project, stuff.co.nz said in a report.

Since no appeals were received till Tuesday, STOS general manager Rob Jager said his company will now immediately move into action, the website report said.

"The first thing we'll be doing is setting up camp at the drill-site, and over the next couple of weeks we'll be transporting the rig down to Kapuni from its storage area at Port Taranaki," he said.

The whole idea of the project is to test the viability of the tight gas formations down there, stuff.co.nz reported Jager as saying.

"We'll be testing the viability and the economics of it all. It's very exciting that we're able to do this in a field as old as Kapuni - it reflects how much technology has changed over the years," he said.