Maari field redevelopment starts oil production offshore New Zealand

Dec. 2, 2014
OMV has delivered first oil from its Maari field redevelopment drilling campaign offshore New Zealand.

Offshore staff

VIENNA, Austria – OMV has delivered first oil from its Maari field redevelopment drilling campaign offshore New Zealand.

TheMaari Growth project is designed to increase production and recovery from the producing Maari field, 80 km (49.7 mi) off the Taranaki coast in 100 m (328 ft) of water. Production started in February 2009 but has declined.

W MR-8A, which came online on Nov. 28, is producing from a previously undrained compartment in the field. The well was side tracked out of an abandoned injection well and drilled horizontally into the Moki formation to a total length of 3,824 m (12,543 ft).

OMV estimates production capacity for this well at 4,500 b/d of oil.

Jaap Huijskes, OMV executive board member responsible for Exploration and Production, said: “Conditions in the Tasman Sea are challenging and remote but the team has been able to safely deliver the project. Additional production from Maari through existing facilities will greatly improve efficiency and reduce operating cost per barrel.”

In April the drilling rigEnsco 107 began abandonment, workover, and drilling on the field. The first well was drilled into the untapped Mangahewa formation and has been suspended in order to enact a revised completion concept.

OMV and its partners Todd Maari, Horizontal Oil International, and Cue Taranaki plan to drill five wells into already producing and new reservoirs. The campaign is expected to be completed by mid-2015.

12/02/2014