NZOG cedes Kakapo permit

Maari oilfield off the coast of Taranaki.

New Zealand Oil & Gas, the nation's biggest listed energy explorer, has ceded its Kakapo permit off South Taranaki after failing to find a partner to share costs of a prospect it says could be several times bigger than the Tui or Maari fields.

NZOG won exploration permit PEP 51311, to the west and south of the Kupe field, in early 2009 and believes it could yield more than 200 million barrels of oil.

ASX-listed Peak Oil & Gas withdrew from a farm-in arrangement in February.