good article

from Petroleum News

Maari production set to rebound
Neil Ritchie, New Zealand
Tuesday, 9 March 2010

FIELD production at the offshore Taranaki Maari oil platform is expected to ramp back up from about 23,000 to 40,000 barrels per day once remedial subsurface engineering work is completed over the next few months, operator OMV said.

The Maari wellhead platform from above

New Zealand managing director Wayne Kirk told PetroleumNews.net late last week that the Austrian company hoped to bring the Manaia appraisal well into production towards the end of the second quarter after the engineering work had been completed.

?We have run the lower completion but still need to do work on the upper completion. As well, the workover rig is being audited before being used and so we have a couple of wells waiting to be brought on,? he said.

After that, total production should be back to the almost 40,000bpd achieved last September.

Kirk added that bringing the MRA zone which started flowing early this month and then Manaia into production should significantly extend the economic life of the Maari field, though he declined to say by how much.

Proven and probable (2P) reserves for the main Moki Formation were about 50 million barrels, though Kirk said it would take 6-12 months of flowing the Miocene-aged M2A zone and Eocene-aged Manaia before enough information had been gained on reservoir performance to accurately estimate their likely recoverable reserves.

However, he said OMV expected Maari-Manaia to be producing economically for at least 10 or 15 years.

Maari, New Zealand?s largest oil field, has flowed over 6.5MMbbl of oil since commercial flows started in February 2009.

Kirk also said OMV and its Great South Basin partners were sufficiently encouraged by the results of their initial seismic shoot over their three GSB licences to acquire more 2D data, infill seismic, over the most promising parts.

During the 2007-08 summer, the company and its partners acquired the largest seismic survey yet undertaken in New Zealand waters ? nearly 16,000km of 2D seismic covering an area of about 48,000 square kilometres.

?We were encouraged enough to go out and shoot some infill that will lower the uncertainty and reduce the risk.?

Singapore-based Reflect Geophysical ? using the Bergen Resolution vessel ? acquired about 2900km of infill seismic in January-February.

Last January, OMV and its GSB partners deferred for a year a decision on whether to drill in the hostile waters off the bottom of New Zealand.

They now have until July 2011 to make decisions on drilling the exploration leases PEP 50119, PEP 50120 and PEP 50121.

?It just takes time in the GSB and we have a dedicated team in Wellington ... we are comfortable we can make the July 2011 deadline,? Kirk added.

OMV NZ operates the GSB permits with a 36% interest, Thailand's PTTEP Offshore Investment Company has 36% equity, while Japan?s Mitsui holds a 28% stake.

The Maari partners are operator Austrian firm OMV (69%), Todd Energy (16%), Horizon Oil (10%) and Cue Energy Resources (5%).