Whio-1 drilling operations finalised

Kan Tan IV at Whio

OMV New Zealand Media Release
26 August, 2014
OMV New Zealand Ltd

Whio-1 drilling operations finalised

Drilling operations completed at Whio-1

Wireline logs and drilling data to be analysed

Kan Tan IV to be handed over to STOS

OMV New Zealand Ltd announces the completion of drilling operations on the Whio-1 exploration well located in PEP 51313 in the Taranaki Basin.

The well, which was spudded on 23 July, has been drilled to a total depth of 2824 m into the Paleocene Farewell Formation.

The well did encounter sandstones in the primary targets (M2A Sandstone and Mangahewa Formation) as expected but could not confirm the presence of commercial hydrocarbons.

The well is being plugged and abandoned before the rig prepares to move off location and is then handed over to STOS for its drilling campaign.

Whio-1 was the third well drilled by OMV New Zealand with the Kan Tan IV semi-submersible rig as part of its 2013/2014 exploration campaign.

“OMV has safely and reliably delivered on a comprehensive exploration drilling programme and tested geological assumptions and concepts in search of new resources.

Although unsuccessful in making a commercial discovery at Whio-1, the data obtained is a valuable piece of the puzzle as we work to understand the generation and accumulation of hydrocarbons in the Taranaki Basin,” says OMV New Zealand Ltd Managing Director Peter Zeilinger.

“While this well marks the end of our current operated exploration campaign, OMV will be involved in drilling the next two wells on the Kan Tan IV with STOS as operator, and our Maari Development programme using the Ensco 107 will continue into 2015.”

ENDS

Participants in the Whio-1 well (PEP 51313) were OMV New Zealand (Operator) 30%; Todd Exploration Limited 35%; Horizon Oil (New Zealand) Limited 21%; and Cue Taranaki Pty Limited 14%.

OMV New Zealand

OMV New Zealand is the country’s largest liquid hydrocarbon producer, the third largest gas producer, and a major explorer in offshore Taranaki Basin and the Great South Basin off the coast of the South Island. It has been active here since 1999 when it acquired shares in the Maari oil discovery which it developed and now operates. Focusing strictly on exploration and production in New Zealand, OMV New Zealand currently holds shares in the Maui and Pohokura gas fields and the Maui pipeline. OMV New Zealand is a subsidiary of OMV Aktiengesellschaft, also known as the OMV Group.

OMV Aktiengesellschaft

With Group sales of EUR 42.42 bn and a workforce of around 27,000 employees in 2013, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is Austria’s largest listed industrial company. The Exploration and Production business segment has a strong base in Romania and Austria and a growing international portfolio. 2013 daily production stood at approx. 288,000 boe/d. In Gas and Power, OMV sold approximately 425 TWh of gas in 2013. OMV operates a gas pipeline network in Austria and gas storage facilities in Austria and Germany with a capacity of 2.6 bcm. In Refining and Marketing OMV has an annual refining capacity of 17.4 mn tonnes and as of the end of 2013 approximately 4,200 filling stations in 11 countries including Turkey.

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