Good news today for holders of CUE & HZN (I hold in these.)
Manaia proves fruitful for OMV
Neil Ritchie, New Zealand
Friday, 9 October 2009
AUSTRIA’S OMV plans to develop New Zealand’s longest well, Manaia-1, as a producer through its existing production facilities on the Maari wellhead platform off Taranaki, New Zealand.
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OMV announced the success of the 8km-long appraisal well this morning and said it should start flowing oil within the next few months.
“The well results give us cause for optimism, so we are pressing ahead with preparations to begin production as soon as possible,” OMV New Zealand managing director Wayne Kirk said.
“This is a very pleasing result given the challenging nature of the drilling we have had to undertake for Manaia-1.
“A well of this length – about 8 kilometres – had never been attempted before in New Zealand. The well path from the drilling rig to the Manaia field also added to the considerable challenge.”
The jack-up Ensco Rig 107 completed Manaia-1 – a deviated horizontal well drilled from the Maari wellhead platform – following a 48-day drilling program targeting the Eocene-aged Mangahewa formation.
The Manaia field, in exploration licence PEP 38413, is located about 10km southwest of the Maari field in mining licence PMP 38160.
“We knew there was a good chance of success as oil was first discovered there in 1970,” Kirk said, referring to the Maui-4 vertical well, which intersected a Mangahewa oil accumulation that tested at rates of about 575 barrels per day.
Maui-4 was considered uneconomic because of poor reservoir quality and low oil production rates from a well typical of that time.
“However, the type of well drilled now, our evaluation of the well data combined with the availability of the Maari production facilities now makes the Manaia discovery commercially viable,” Kirk said.
He added that OMV would not be commenting on M2A or Manaia reserves or production flow rates until a full evaluation of both discoveries had been completed. Initial results pointed to these being in line with previous expectations, though he did not detail these.
Horizon has said the Moki sands have proven and probable (2P) reserves of 60 million barrels while the M2A sands have the potential to add another 12MMbbl and the Manaia prospect another 25MMbbl to recoverable reserves.
The Maari field, about 80km southwest of Taranaki, has already flowed over 3MMbbl since production began last February.
“The extra production from the two fields will add to the sizeable benefits the development is already providing the New Zealand economy. Today’s announcements are the icing on the Maari cake,” Kirk concluded.
The Maari partners are operator OMV (69%), Todd Energy (16%), Horizon Oil (10%) and Cue Energy Resources (5%).