Failure to notify any drilling in permit PEP38483 by the already...

Failure to notify any drilling in permit PEP38483 by the already extended deadline to 8/12/10, indicates the consortium led by AWE has now abandoned the deeper Taranaki prospects that were so positively heralded in previous years. Failures in nearbye Hoki and Hector will have dampened confidence in their inhouse geological expertise and with new leadership at the helm in AWE, risk aversion and cost management will have prevailed. Finding new partners and comittments to future Taranaki off shore drilling seems much constrained after the earlier successes of Kupe, Tui and Maari. Entry of a new experienced partner would do much to resore enthusiasm for future drilling. Sadly, PPP as the most junior partner can only sit and wait for events to unfold.