Kan Tan IV drilling rig on its way to the Maari Field

OMV Press Release 22 August, 2013

Kan Tan IV drilling rig on its way to the Maari Field

• Start of extended, multi-well drilling campaign

• $NZ 100 million investment in Taranaki Basin exploration

On behalf of its JV partners, OMV New Zealand is pleased to announce the semi-submersible drilling rig Kan Tan IV has been unloaded at Admiralty Bay and is on its way to the Maari field in the Taranaki Basin.

A blessing of the rig was performed by Ngati Koata and Ngati Ruanui at Admiralty Bay prior to its floating off and journey to Maari.

Once at the field, the rig will drill the Manaia-2 appraisal well, located south-west of the main Maari field.

Manaia-2 is the first of three confirmed wells the rig will drill on behalf of OMV and its partners.

“The start of our multi-well drilling campaign is the culmination of thousands of hours of work by our team,” explained Peter Zeilinger, Managing Director of OMV New Zealand. “We have invested a great deal in ensuring our drilling plans are robust and as safe as possible both for the environment and for the people involved.

“Some of that work involved putting together a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for each aspect of the campaign for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Over NZ$10 million has been spent on environmental planning, biosecurity measures, environmental baseline and geotechnical site surveys in preparation for the Kan Tan IV drilling campaign. Ours was the first EIA the EPA considered under the transitional phase for the new Exclusive Economic Zone legislation so we are pleased it was accepted as complete.” A biosecurity assessment and management plan was completed prior to the rig’s arrival in New Zealand to prevent any contamination from unwanted marine plants or animals. In addition to 10 days of cleaning above the waterline, divers spent over 500 hours scraping and using high pressure waterblasting to clean submerged regions.

Once on site, it’s expected drilling the Manaia-2 well will take up to 30 days. From there, the rig will move to the Matuku-1 prospect in PEP 51906 which is approximately 45 km from the Maari Field.

The third well in OMV’s Exploration and Appraisal programme will be the Whio-1 well at PEP 51313, approximately 4 km from the Maari Field. Whio-1 is expected to be drilled in early 2014 after the rig returns from its assignment with AWE.

“Given all the confirmed and potential drilling put on the table by the operators sharing the rig, we expect the Kan Tan IV to be active in New Zealand waters for about a year,” Mr Zeilinger said.

Operated by Frigstad Offshore, the Kan Tan IV is capable of operating in water depths of up to 457 metres.

Originally built in 1983, the rig has recently been extensively refurbished which included having its hull overhauled in dry-dock and its on-board equipment updated.

JV details: The Maari JV: OMV New Zealand Ltd (69%, operator) Todd Maari Ltd (16%), Horizon Oil International Ltd (10%) and Cue Taranaki Pty Ltd. (5%) PEP 51906 JV: OMV New Zealand (65%, operator), Octanex (22.5%) and NZOG (12.5%) PEP 51313 JV: OMV New Zealand (30%, operator), Todd Exploration Ltd (35%), Horizon Oil (New Zealand) Ltd (21%) and Cue Taranaki Pty Ltd (14%)

ENDS

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