Taranaki Basin

TAG's Oil & Gas Taranaki Permits, click to enlarge

Basin Background: A Perspective
The Taranaki Basin is an emerging oil, gas and condensate province located on the North Island of New Zealand. The Basin remains under explored compared to many comparable rift complex basins of its size and potential. Although the Taranaki Basin covers an area of about 100,000 sq. km., fewer than 500 exploration and development wells have been drilled since 1950. To date, proven Taranaki oil reserves of 534 million barrels, and proven gas reserves of 7.3 trillion cubic feet have been discovered. Last year more than 390 million cubic feet / day gas was produced and oil production from Taranaki averaged 45,000 barrels of oil per day. This extremely high quality light oil is sold into the Asia-Pacific Tapis market at a premium to West Texas Intermediate.

(Source: New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development http://www.crownminerals.govt.nz/cms/petroleum/facts-and-figures.)

Focus on Proven Producing Miocene Reservoirs
TAG Oil's current exploration efforts are focused on shallow oil and gas pools in proven Miocene reservoirs. Though TAG has experienced excellent success in the shallow Miocene play level, even more significant potential exists in the deeper Oligocene and Eocene strata, which contain several major discoveries. The Company's geoscientists have developed a stringent set of criteria to identify new exploration targets based on analysis of extensive proprietary data, modeled on comparison to proven, producing pools. Future exploration targets will be drilled only if all criteria are in place, increasing the likelihood of acceptable success rates.

Taranaki Basin Discoveries
Turangi (gas), Awakino South (gas), Kowhai (gas), Pohokura (gas-condensate), Maari-Manaia (oil), Tui (oil), Karewa (oil), Karewa (gas), Goldie (oil), Cheal (oil/gas), Sidewinder (oil/gas), Cardiff (gas/condensate) Surrey (oil/gas), Kahili (gas/condensate), Kupe (gas-condensate) Maui (gas/condensate). Kapuni (gas/condensate), McKee (oil/gas), Tariki/Ahuroa (gas/condensate), Waihapa/Ngaere (oil/gas), Ngatoro (oil/gas), Kaimiro (oil/gas), Mangahewa (gas/condensate), Rimu (oil/gas), Motoroa (oil).

Downstream Infrastructure
Maari offshore platforms; Tui and Maari FPSOs; Pohokura, Maari and Kupe unmanned platforms. Eight onshore production stations in Taranaki. North Island gas pipeline network, including pipelines to Gisborne and Hastings. Oil refinery and port at Marsden Point, Whangarei, with connections to the North Island gas pipeline network and a liquids pipeline to Auckland.