New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment announced the opening of the country's annual petroleum exploration permit tender Block Offer 2015. New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals (NZP&M) General Manager James Stevenson-Wallace says the tender, which closes Sept. 30, covers more than 165,638 square miles (429,000 square kilometres) of offshore and onshore acreage.
“Block Offer 2015 represents the largest ever acreage offered by the New Zealand Government. The release areas comprise a range of exploration opportunities, spanning well-explored areas through to frontier regions where little or no exploration has taken place.”
“Last year’s Block Offer was very successful with 15 exploration permits awarded – including to new entrants Chevron and Videsh ONGC.” “Currently all petroleum production in New Zealand comes from one of our 18 known petroleum basins – so there are real potential for discoveries.
New Zealand offers investors attractive terms and competitive costs for acreage acquisition; ensure work program commitments for frontier basins are not onerous; with legislation that supports joint ventures to reduce cost and risk to individual operators.” To support Block Offer 2015, NZP&M have recently released an updated Petroleum Exploration Data Pack, available on a two terabyte hard drive. Stevenson-Wallace says this year’s data pack adds 11 new projects to the comprehensive compilation of open-file seismic and well data, interpretation projects, reports and studies available in previous editions.
The updates include a Fluid Inclusion Stratigraphy Study of ten wells across the Reinga-Northland, East Coast, Great South and Taranaki basins, a database of conventional well test and wireline formation tester results, and quality-controlled composited wireline data for over 500 wells. This is also the first time the final Reinga Basin Petroleum Prospectivity Screening Report, based on the analytical results of samples collected by the NIWA research vessel the RV Tangaroa, will be available.
“The data pack offers industry key New Zealand prospectivity data, to support investment decisions. A potential investor can order a Data Pack and instantly get a clear picture of New Zealand’s potential.” More information on Block Offer 2015 release areas and the Invitation for Bids can be found at: www.nzpam.govt.nz/cms/investors/permits/block-offers/block-offer-2015 The 2015 Petroleum Exploration Data Pack can be ordered from the New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals website.
