Gas field could boost NZ supply by up to four years

A gasfield being explored in Taranaki could yield huge volumes and extend New Zealand's supply by three to four years.

The Herald understands there is growing excitement about preliminary results from onshore drilling by energy company Genesis on the Cardiff exploration licence area, 25km south of Kapuni.

Chief executive Murray Jackson yesterday downplayed the rumours, saying progress was promising but it was too soon to predict volumes. Genesis had drilled to 4000m and needed to go 900m deeper.

"It is showing all the right signals. Indications are the field is tight with no significant fractures that gas may have escaped from."

But Mr Jackson said quantities of gas could not be properly estimated until drilling finished and the flow was flared, which should happen about the end of next month.

State-owned Genesis owns 40 per cent of the Cardiff area, followed by Austral Pacific Energy with 30 per cent and then minor shareholders.

Mr Jackson said it was especially unwise to speculate on Cardiff as Austral Pacific was a listed company on the stock exchange.

He said Genesis had paid $15 million to drill the field with a view to targeting the Kapuni sands, New Zealand's longest-surviving gasfield.

"This is another part of that field which has not been in commercial operation before."

Mr Jackson said there had been anxiety for the last few years with the Maui gasfield running out.

"A new discovery at Cardiff could give another three to four years' life to New Zealand gas reserves," he said.

New Zealand used about 150 petajoules of gas a year and a Herald source suggested the Cardiff field was estimated at 450 petajoules,

Contact Energy spokesman Pattrick Smellie said significant finds were to be expected in New Zealand although there was criticism not enough exploration was done.

Mr Smellie doubted that another Maui - a globally sized gasfield - would be found but it was known there had to be more gas in New Zealand both offshore and onshore, the latter much more economical to process.

Contact Energy had no inside information on Cardiff but would be as keen as anyone if it revealed good supplies, he said.

"Everyone's hoping they are going to strike the big one. Casual bar talk in Taranaki can turn into a hot rumour."

Just last week, the Dominion Post reported the offshore Mangatoa prospect in north Taranaki could be bigger than first thought, with possibly 3000 petajoules of gas, three-quarters the size of Maui.

Energy Minister Trevor Mallard could not be reached for comment.