Monday, September 23, 2013
TAG Oil’s application to drill its Punawai-1 well at Waitangi Hill is likely to be approved this week.
Gisborne District Council group manager of environment and policy Hans van Kregten said there was still some paperwork to be completed but approval for the company to drill in Kanakanaia Road, near Te Karaka, was “imminent”.
The site is in the Canada-listed, Taranaki-based company’s East Coast Basin PEP area 38348 — more than 800 square-kilometres around Te Karaka — which the company regards as its “No. 1 location for drilling” in the region.
The relevant consents are for land use, discharge and permission to construct a bore for the well drilling (to a depth of 3150 metres) and testing, which is expected to take seven weeks.
Discussing TAG’s financial results with investors late last month, chief operating officer Drew Cadenhead said the non-notified consent had been granted after “an extremely long process with Gisborne District Council”.
The company is already active in Taranaki and has spudded one well near Dannevirke, its first foray into the unconventional territory of the East Coast Basin.
Mr Cadenhead said TAG had been approached by larger companies wanting to partner them as they explored nearly 700,000 hectares of permitted land they had in the basin.
“But with the data we have received to date, and our present financial position, why would we?” he said.
“We’re in a position to at least take this programme to the next phase, a pilot development programme.
“And who knows . . . if we execute properly, we may move to the next stage of full-blown production and development on our own as well.”
Exploration areas amended
BIDDING for oil and gas exploration areas opened up under the Government’s Block Offer 2013 close this week with two onshore sites in the region among those on offer.
The adjacent blocks — Petroleum Exploration Permit 13EC1 and PEP 13EC2 — are inland from Gisborne city and are bordered by Te Karaka, Muriwai, Tiniroto, Frasertown and Waikaremoana.
But they are smaller than first planned. Between them they cover a total of 1320.6 square kilometres. They were to have been larger —more than 2000 square kilometres combined — but were reduced after consultation with iwi and Gisborne District Council that took place between November 2012 and January this year.
New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZPAM) general manager David Binnie said the reduction in the East Coast blocks was made after careful consideration of all submissions.
However, the parts taken out of this year’s block offer — which included two entire sites in Taranaki— might be presented again in the future.
“These have been deferred in whole or in part for a future block offer,” Mr Binnie said.
“The areas were notable by the density of wahi tapu sites and the time needed for more consultation with iwi, and the gathering of information on the wahi tapu sites in the areas concerned.”
As part of the consultation process, Gisborne District Council group manager of environment and policy Hans van Kregten called for public submissions and told Mr Binnie that, of the 33 received, 27 opposed the proposed block offers.
In a combined submission, the Ngai Tamanuhiri, Rongowhakaata and Te Aitanga a Mahaki (Turanga) iwi requested that the original blocks be amended, as they had identified sites of significance including wahi tapu, pa sites, marae, and rivers and aquifers.
Acknowledging that PEP 13EC1 and PEP 13EC2 were of interest because there had been “active seeps” on both sites, the iwi did not request that the blocks be withdrawn completely.
However, “taking into account the large number of sites identified by the Turanga iwi, their density of distribution and the geographic specificity with which they have been identified, officials recommend that sections of Block 13EC1 and Block 13EC2 are deferred until a subsequent block offer”.
The iwi also requested that buffer zones be put in place – of five kilometres around villages and three kilometres around marae.
Other sites available in Block Offer 2013 are three onshore blocks in Taranaki, plus offshore sites in the Reinga-Northland Basins, Taranaki Basin, and Great South-Canterbury Basins.
Bidding opened in May with oil and gas companies and investors given until September 26 to submit exploration work programmes for consideration by NZPAM.
After the tender closes next Thursday, the bids will be evaluated and it is expected that permits will awarded in December.
Meanwhile, sites targeted for Block Offer 2014 were announced this week. None are in the Gisborne/East Coast region.