Offshore staff

SYDNEY, Australia -- Origin Energy has won its second large offshore Canterbury basin petroleum exploration permit offshore New Zealand.

The 23,790-sq km (9,185-sq mi) permit lies in deepwater, covering a 100-km-wide (62-mi) strip from the tip of the Banks Peninsula south to 100 km (62 mi) east of Dunedin.

The new permit, PEP 38264, is adjacent to and further offshore from Origin Energy's other Canterbury permit, 12,630-sq km (4,876-sq mi) PEP 38262, which Origin was awarded in August 2005.

Rob Willink, Origin Energy's executive general manager for exploration, says the company acquired the new permit after encouraging seismic results from large basement structures off the Otago coast in Origin's PEP 38262 permit.

Earlier this year, Origin acquired 1,000 km (621 mi) of 2D seismic data in its Carrack regional survey. One of the targets of this survey was the large Carrack lead 50 km (31 mi) east of Dunedin, which pre-survey indicated is 400 sq km (154 sq mi) in size. The Carrack lead lies in 1,000-1,300 m (3,280-4,265 ft) water depth.

Carrack is 50 km (31 mi) southeast of the Galleon-1 well, where gas-condensate flows were found in the 1980s and about 60 km (37 mi) south of the large Barque prospect in PEP 38259, which operator Tap Oil plans to drill next year.

Origin's prime interest in the new permit will be the large basement highs, the company says. Origin will also be examining stratigraphic onlap plays further north, south of Banks Peninsula.

In 1Q 2007, Origin plans to acquire 2,300 km (1,429 mi) of 2D seismic across both of its Canterbury basin permits. The proposed work program calls for an exploration well within four years.

12/07/2006