New Zealand Oil and gas
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15% increase in Kupe developed reserves

Posted on 21 April 2016

New Zealand Oil & Gas has announced a further upgrade in developed reserves in the Kupe gas and light oil field off Taranaki, New Zealand, following analysis by the joint venture.

The upgrade from 5.22 million barrels of oil equivalent to 6.02 million barrels is further to a 34.7 per cent increase announced in October last year.

As a result of detailed reservoir simulation uncertainty modelling, New Zealand Oil & Gas has concluded a further increase in 2P developed reserves of 15.29 per cent. The upgrade includes an extra 3.6 petajoules of gas and 16.69 kilotonnes of LPG compared to 2P developed reserves at 31 December 2015 (less production volumes since then).

Chief executive Andrew Knight says the reserves upgrade is positive news.

“This reserves increase provides additional volume from within the existing development. It also provides further security that contracted volumes can be met without needing significant additional capital.”

In addition to the upgrade in developed reserves, technical work is nearing completion to assess options for developing undeveloped reserves of 3.2 million barrels (New Zealand Oil & Gas share). These reserves were reported in the company’s Interim Report statement of total Kupe 2P reserves at 31 December 2015. The Kupe joint venture has not made a final investment decision on the undeveloped reserves.

New Zealand Oil & Gas has a 15% interest in Kupe. The other Kupe partners are Origin Energy, 50% (Operator); Genesis Energy, 31%; and Mitsui, 4%.