SapuraOMV made a discovery in Toutouwai exploration well
The prospect is located 50 kilometres off the Taranaki coast in 130 metres of water.
Sapura Energy Berhad (“Sapura Energy”) has announced that its associate company, SapuraOMV Upstream Sdn. Bhd. (“SapuraOMV”) together with Joint Venture partners Mitsui Exploration and Production Australia Pty Ltd (“Mitsui E&P Australia”) and OMV New Zealand Limited (“OMV NZ”) have made a discovery with a positive result in the Toutouwai-1 exploration well in the Taranaki Basin, in New Zealand. The prospect is located 50 kilometres off the Taranaki coast in 130 metres of water.
Drilling commenced in the Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP) 60093 in early March 2020 and the target reservoir was successfully reached in April 2020. Preliminary results are encouraging with several hydrocarbon charged layers encountered in the Cretaceous sandstones.
SapuraOMV CEO Muhammad Zamri Jusoh remarked:
“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.”
SapuraOMV is a strategic partnership between Sapura Energy and OMV Aktiengesellschaft.
Currently, SapuraOMV is working with the Toutouwai Joint Venture partners, Mitsui E&P Australia and OMV NZ, 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, the testing phase had to be curtailed.
The Toutouwai-1 exploration well is the third and final well in OMV NZ’s 2019/2020 exploration drilling campaign. At present, the well has safely been plugged and abandoned in accordance with New Zealand’s stringent regulatory requirements.
