Industry sources said the Waihapa-H1 well – a new well drilled earlier this year from a new well site – flowed at rates close to 2500bopd before being choked back to avoid formation damage to the fractured Tikorangi limestones.
They said Waihapa-H1 and a sidetrack of the existing Waihapa-4 well could return field production to 4000bopd or more.
When Waihapa was discovered in 1988, it first flowed at rates exceeding 10,000bopd – making it one of the best producing onshore fields in New Zealand or Australia.
But formation damage and water cuts later led to production dropping drastically to less than 1000bopd, earlier this decade.
SENZ president Alan Cunningham today confirmed the drilling earlier this year of Waihapa-H1 and the Waihapa-4 sidetrack into the Tikorangi Formation but he declined to comment on flow rates.
{{ insert : a sidetrack is when a drill string or tool gets stuck and they have to re-attempt around the obstruction on a alternative well path}}
“We have a busy program scheduled for Waihapa, with plenty of activity. But you will have to wait for the next quarterly report from Houston for any further details,” he told PetrolemNews.net from Wellington.
Cunningham confirmed the deep gas well Kowhai-A1 in licence PEP 38742 was nearing its target depth but declined to comment further.
SENZ last month started its first onshore Taranaki deep gas well in conjunction with partner Ballance Agri-Nutrients, owner of New Zealand’s sole ammonia urea plant at Kapuni in Taranaki. Kowhai-A1 is targeting Eocene-aged gas in formations down about 4000m.
Cunningham also declined to comment on continued testing of some zones in the onshore Taranaki Goss-A1 and Trapper-A1 wells.
Last month, SENZ reported the deeper Eocene-aged objectives proved non-commercial, but that both exploration prospects had intermediate depth objectives worthy of testing. It is understood the zones of interest include the Mangahewa, Tikorangi and Tariki formations.
Goss and Trapper are the second and third wells to be drilled in conjunction with state-owned downstream player Mighty River Power. The first, Tawa-B1, was a duster last year.
Houston-headquartered Swift Energy is due to release its third quarter results in either late
October or early November. ----end --- new ORIGIN NZEC responsible for 100% of costs associated with drilling a well to the crestal interval of the Tikorangi formation, with profits to be shared 50/50 with Origin • Origin retained rights to eight “option wells” for gas storage 1. Closing of the Acquisition is subject to meeting the financing condition precedent by August 14 and the government approval condition precedent by September 13, in order to close the Acquisition by September 20, 2013. 2. The Origin royalty is payable at 9% of net revenue (hydrocarbon sales less operating expenses incurred between the point of valuation and the point of sale). TWN Joint Venture may buy back at any time and from time to time up to 4% of the Origin royalty by paying C$4.25 million per percentage point. The TWN Licences are also subject to a government royalty payable at 10% of net revenue as they are “grandfathered” under the 1937 Petroleum Act. https://www.slideshare.net/NZEnergy/nzec-presentation-feb2012 Nov 2, 2006 n New Zealand, Swift Energy drilled 3 wells and was successful on 1 well and suspended operations on another. The Company drilled 2 wells targeting the Tikorangi limestone formation in the TAWN area and completed the Waihapa H-1 well, which is currently on production. The Waihapa 4ST well was suspended for mechanical reasons until 2007. The Kowhai A-1 exploration well was drilled on PEP 38742 in the northern Taranaki basin and was unsuccessful. The Trapper A-1 well, which had previously been plugged back from non-commercial deeper horizons, was planned to be completed in the Tikorangi formation but is now being plugged and abandoned due to mechanical reasons. Plans are underway to complete the Goss well in the Tikorangi formation for testing and evaluation.