PETALING JAYA: Sapura Energy Bhd’s joint venture with Mitsui Exploration and Production Australia Pty Ltd and OMV New Zealand Ltd via its associate company SapuraOMV Upstream Sdn Bhd discovery efforts have yielded positive results in the Toutouwai-1 exploration well in the Taranaki Basin, New Zealand.
It disclosed that the prospect is located 50m off the Taranaki coast in 130m of water.
The group stated that drilling commenced in Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP) 60093 in early March 2020 and the target reservoir was successfully reached in April. It said the preliminary results are encouraging with several hydrocarbon charged layers encountered in the Cretaceous sandstones.
“The positive discovery of Toutouwai opens up an exciting opportunity for us. This would create value and further reinforce our overall growth plan as we remain agile in these challenging times,” said SapuraOMV CEO Muhammad Zamri Jusoh in a statement.
SapuraOMV is working with its Toutouwai joint-venture partners on the additional work required to determine the well’s commercial viability.
Given the operational risks posed to the offshore exploration drilling programme from the Covid-19 virus, it said, the testing phase had to be curtailed.
The Toutouwai-1 exploration well is the third and final well in OMV New Zealand’s 2019/2020 exploration drilling campaign. The well has safely been plugged and abandoned in accordance with New Zealand’s stringent regulatory requirements.
