New Zealand Oil & Gas (Nzog) and partner Beach Energy have applied to relinquish petroleum exploration permit 52717, known as Clipper, which contains the Barque prospect, Nzog said on February 16.  

“New Zealand Oil & Gas believes a confluence of events including; adverse regulatory settings for offshore exploration; the dry hole at OMV’s Tawhaki permit; the recent announcement terminating Wherry-1 drilling; and the effects of Covid on drill rig costs and availability have formed a perfect storm, making the task of finding suitable partners in the required timeline impossible” CEO Andrew Jefferies said. 

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He said that Nzog and Beach remain committed to New Zealand, where they operate the Kupe gas field in South Taranaki. “At Kupe we are halfway through a major compression project to maintain production from our large offshore production permit that has both development and near field exploration potential,” Jefferies said.  

The Clipper permit is located in the Canterbury basin, about 40-km east of the South Island. Nzog is the operator with 50% interest.