Maari Field reaches 30 Million Barrel Milestone

Maari Field reaches 30 Million Barrel Milestone

Production started in 2009

Revamp of facilities in 2013

Additional wells drilled in 2014/2015

Investments to date exceed 1.7 Billion NZD*

OMV New Zealand, on behalf of the Maari joint venture partners, is pleased to announce that the Maari field offshore Taranaki has produced 30 million barrels of oil.

Although discovered in 1983, the resources lay dormant until the Maari joint venture,led by OMV New Zealand Ltd, was established in its current form.

Following an investment decision in 2005, the field was developed through the installation of a fixed well-head platform connected to a floating production station, the FPSO Raroa. Production started in February 2009.

In 2014 the ENSCO-107, the jack-up drilling rig which drilled the original wells at Maari,was brought back to New Zealand to drill four additional development wells. Today the Maari field has 11 production and water injection wells.

The new wells increased production to about 16,000 barrels per day*, keeping Maari the largest producing crude oil field in New Zealand.

Due to the high quality of the oil, most of the production has previously gone to refineries in Australia. However, in recent years, an increasing volume of Maari oil is going to New Zealand’s only refinery in Whangarei.

“Maari has made a significant contribution to the New Zealand economy since its development started,” said Peter Zeilinger, Managing Director, OMV New Zealand.

”We are pleased to be able to say that Maari has not only generated value through taxes and royalties paid to the New Zealand Government, but Maari provides long term employment for more than 100 people directly and makes a substantial contribution to meeting New Zealand’s energy needs.”

The Maari field is located 80 km off the Taranaki coast in water depths of about 100m. It is operated by OMV New Zealand Ltd (69%) on behalf of the Maari JV which includes Todd Maari Ltd (16%), Horizon Oil International Ltd (10%) and Cue Taranaki Pty Ltd (5%).

ENDS

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