WAITARIA 2 EXPLORATION WELL,
PEP 38335, EAST COAST NEW ZEALAND, PREPARING TO TEST
Pancontinental Oil & Gas NL (Pancon) announces that the Operator of PEP 38335 has completed running the 178 mm liner and 73 mm tubing in the Waitaria 2 exploration well. The mud in the well has been displaced with diesel and at 19.00hrs on 5 March, swabbing operations were in progress in order to stimulate flow. No oil or gas flows have been recorded to date.
Previously, the Operator’s analysis of open-hole logging data were interpreted to indicate that sands in the well were gas charged. These data also indicated that a cumulative thickness of 64m of potential hydrocarbon bearing sandstones could be present between 1,402m and 2,538m.
The current testing program is designed to validate and quantify these interpretations.
The Waitaria prospect has been delineated by a close grid of modern 2D seismic data. The prospect has been mapped by the operator, prior to drilling, to have 4 way dip closure over an area of 6 square kilometres and vertical closure of 700 metres at a level immediately above the primary Mid-Miocene age Tunanui sandstone target reservoir.
PEP 38335 covers an area of 409 square kilometres and incorporates the regional city of Gisborne. Approximately 50 kilometres to the south-west, in the Westech operated PEP 38329 permit, are the late 1998 Kauhauroa and Awatare gas discoveries, adjacent to the town of Wairoa. The Kauhauroa and Awatare gas discoveries are in Miocene reservoirs and recorded test gas flows of up to 11.5 million cubic feet per day.
Participating interests in PEP 38335 (after earning) are :-
| Pancontinental Oil and Gas NL | 7.5% |
| Westech Energy New Zealand | 27.5% (Operator) |
| Orion Exploration Ltd | 27.5% |
| Indo-Pacific Energy (NZ) Ltd | 25.0% |
| Sun Resources NL | 7.5% |
| Everest Energy Inc | 5.0% |
Enquiries:
Andrew Svalbe
Tel: 08 9227 7178
Fax: 08 9227 9079
Email: svalbe@pancon.com.au
