N.Z. Seeks Explorers for Raukumara, Northland Basins

By Gavin Evans

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’s government is seeking exploration proposals for 66,000 square kilometers (25,500 square miles) of ocean off the east coast and Northland peninsula of the country’s North Island.

The government is offering two exploration permits over the Raukumara basin northeast of East Cape and six blocks west of the Northland peninsula, Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said in a statement today. The two regions have considerable potential for oil and gas and have already attracted interest from domestic and international explorers, he said.

New Zealand government scientists have been studying the country’s deepwater basins as part of a campaign to lure global explorers and expand the nation’s oil and gas output beyond the Taranaki region. Deep sediments and on and offshore oil seeps make Raukumara one of New Zealand’s “most prospective” frontier basins, according to GNS Science geologists.

The government “expects explorers to propose aggressive work programs to explore the potential of this significant new region,” the country’s Crown Minerals department said today.

Explorers are being offered two blocks over the basin. One, of 7,381 square kilometers, extends about 70 kilometers north from Cape Runaway. The second, directly north of the first, extends about 120 kilometers off the coast and covers 9,907 square kilometers.

Northland

The Northland basin lies north of the Taranaki basin which contains the nation’s major producing fields: Maui, Kapuni and Pohokura.

ConocoPhillips and its partners drilled two offshore wells in 1999 and 2003, while Sydney-based Origin Energy Ltd. and OMV AG are currently exploring in the southern part of the basin.

The six blocks that are offered run north up the coast from Auckland and are directly north of the Origin-OMV permits. They comprise three coastal permits and three permits over deeper water, with the furthest extending about 170 kilometers from the coast.

Bidding for both basins close on Jan. 28, 2010. Permits will be granted for five years and must at a minimum include seismic studies and a commitment to drill at least one well within four years.