NZOG Starts Drilling Onshore Taranaki

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG) September 26 said that drilling has commenced at the Kohatukai-1 well in PEP 55768, onshore northern Taranaki, New Zealand. The well is located south of New Plymouth.

Drilling operations began September 24 and the current operation is drilling ahead with a 17.5-inch drill bit to 650 metres.

The primary target is at a depth of about 3,680 to 3,801 metres. The well is expected to take 58 days to drill. Kohatukai well is targeting gas condensate in a field analagous to the nearby Pohokura field that currently provides about a third of New Zealand’s total gas production.

Participants in PEP 55768 are Japan’s Mitsui (37.5%); Australia’s AWE (12.5%) (operator); NZOG (25%); and O.G. Oil and Gas (25%). O.G. Oil & Gas is the largest shareholder in NZOG.

Earlier this year, NZOG said that it plans to drill three exploration wells before the end of 2018. The company said it would drill one well in New Zealand’s Taranaki Basin and two in Indonesia.