Royal Dutch Shell is to begin drilling an exploration well off the New Zealand coast that could extend the life of the Maui gas field.
Drilling ship the Noble Discoverer will drill the Ruru well for Shell Todd Oil Services Ltd. Shell Todd is 50 per cent owned by Todd Energy Ltd. and 50 per cent owned by The Hague-based Shell.
The Ruru well lies approximately 40 kilometres off the Taranki coast on New Zealand’s North Island and is adjacent to the Maui gas field. Maui, which covers an area of 157 square kilometres, began production 30 years ago.
Ruru’s geological structure looks similar to Maui, with drillers planning to target the same geological zone—known as the Kapuni Formation—that produces the Maui gas.
The Noble Discoverer will drill to a depth of 4,000 metres in an operation expected to take up to two months, depending on the weather.
It is currently not possible to tell from a seismic survey whether structures in the drilling area could contain primarily gas or oil.
It is thought that the drilling could cost around NZ$70 million (approx. €40 million). Most of the cost will be met by Shell, which holds more than 80 per cent of the exploration permit. Vienna-based OMV holds 10 per cent and Todd Energy 6.25 per cent.
New Zealand produced 19.6 million barrels of oil in 2009 and 180 petajoules of gas, all from the Taranaki region. Since Maui started producing, it has accounted for an estimated 80 per cent of all natural gas used in New Zealand.
Ruru is the first true exploration well to be drilled by Shell in New Zealand in 12 years.
