Kea Petroleum
Kea Petroleum (KEA) has commenced drilling at its Douglas-1 well on permit PEP 51153 within New Zealand's onshore Taranaki Basin.
The
Douglas prospect is mapped as a Tikorangi Limestone target at a depth
of 3,000 metres, which Kea expects to reach in four weeks. "Whilst the
company's intention was to farm out Douglas, it has proved impossible to
conclude this in a timely fashion, given the advancement of the
drilling date by several months and the very recent incorporation of the
new seismic data," the company commented.
With regards to Puka-1,
the company confirmed the well had been cased and suspended pending
flow testing. Kea intends to flow test this well as soon as equipment
and personnel are available, but cautioned that due to testing
activities of recent discoveries nearby by New Zealand Energy Corp and
TAG Oil, demand for testing equipment and personnel in the area was
"presently very stretched".
Finally, Kea warned that the drilling
timetable for Mauku remained "challenging" due to extreme weather
conditions, the approach of winter, public and Maori consultations and
other consents, which were delaying access and site construction.
