Drilling will resume soon on the Hoki-1 well off the Taranaki coast, after repairs on a semi-submersible drilling rig have been completed, Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE) says.AWE has said it was targeting a potential 300 million barrel oil find in
Drilling will resume soon on the Hoki-1 well off the Taranaki coast, after repairs on a semi-submersible drilling rig have been completed, Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE) says.
AWE has said it was targeting a potential 300 million barrel oil find in the drilling at the Hoki prospect, and the PEP 38401 offshore permit in which it owns a 50 percent share.
Preparations were being made this morning to install well control equipment on the Chinese-owned rig, which was built in 1983, AWE said.
The well was drilled to 1505m, about half its target depth before the operations were suspended.
The well lies about 135km west of New Plymouth and in water depth of 330m. It is the largest untested prospect in the western margin of the Taranaki basin.
The cost of the repairs and the rig's day-rate during the downtime would be met by operators Maersk, AWE said.
New Zealand Oil and Gas Ltd (NZOG) -- a 10 percent stakeholder -- said last month it was very disappointed issues identified as needing fixing were not rectified prior to the rig's arrival, but repairs were essential to ensure its safe operation.
Maersk Drilling initially said that a full repair and re-instatement of the safe operation of the drilling mast would take about three weeks.
AWE planned to drill another nine wells in the next eight months, including two in the nearby Tui field.
AWE has also been looking for joint venture partners for another well, Tuatara-1, off D'Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds, which it believed could tap 100 million barrels of oil.
Kan Tan IV was being prepared at Geelong, near Melbourne, last year when the aft crane and the crane boom were damaged, delaying its sailing.
