Manaia well now producing
The Maari development has reached another significant milestone with oil now flowing from the Manaia well.
Some eight kilometres long, the well targeted the Mangahewa formation of the Manaia structure.
“While its still early days, its always pleasing to see a new well come on-stream,” said OMV New Zealand Managing
Director Dr Wayne Kirk. “It marks another chapter in the ongoing development of the Maari field and the Greater Maari
Area.”
Now that oil flow has been established, the focus turns to production testing, he explained. This includes assessing the
fields production rate, oil properties and determining if additional wells might be warranted.
“We anticipate its going to take several months of production to accurately determine recoverable reserves for Manaia,”
Dr Kirk said. “That information will be also used to help determine whether we will drill more wells but at this point,
we simply dont have enough information about the field to make any sort of determination.”
“Drilling an eight kilometre long well is challenging enough, yet despite the technical challenges, its very pleasing to
see the commitment both staff and contractors have shown to bringing the Manaia well safely on stream.”
The Manaia field, located over 6 kilometres away from Maari, is a separate geological structure, but the oil is produced
through the Tiro Tiro Moana Well Head Platform and into the Raroa FPSO like all the main Maari wells.
In July, Crown Minerals approved the amalgamation of the Manaia field into the Maari mining permit. This made it easier
to make the transition from an appraisal well to production testing and allows OMV to focus on the Maari area as a
whole, Dr Kirk said.
OMV New Zealand was awarded petroleum project of the year at the inaugural „Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards for the
Manaia well – the longest oil well ever drilled in New Zealand.
The Maari and Manaia fields are operated by OMV NZ Ltd on behalf of the Maari Joint Venture partners OMV New Zealand,
Todd Maari Ltd, Horizon Oil International, and Cue Taranaki Pty Ltd.
ENDS