New Zealand Energy wins approval to acquire Wairoa permit stake

NZEC Wairoa (NZEC) is a subsidiary of New Zealand Energy and has secured a final approval from New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals (NZPAM) to acquire 80% ownership in the Wairoa permit (PEP 38346). This will be taken over from Westech Energy New Zealand (Westech), a subsidiary of Energy Corporation of America.

The Wairoa permit includes around 267,862 acres (1,084km²) at East Coast basin in North Island, New Zealand.

The company has paid $725,000 for Westech and assumed responsibility for the work programme for transfer of the 80% interest.

NZEC is required to drill one exploration well on the permit by June 2014 and another by March 2016, under the revised work program approved by NZPAM.

Westech will refund $225,000 to NZEC upon completion of the work programme, while all future expenditures for the permit will be funded 80% by NZEC and 20% by Westech.

The Wairoa permit was actively explored for many years compared with other areas in the East Coast basin, with about 500km of 2D seismic data across the permit and log data from 16 wells drilled on the property.

In October 2012 NZEC signed a binding agreement with Westech to become operator of the Wairoa permit.

The company has conducted multiple technical studies, reinterpreted existing seismic data and acquired an additional 50km of 2D seismic data since 2012.

NZEC chose to give up the Ranui permit to focus on the Wairoa, Castlepoint and East Cape permits. The company currently controls 1,813,741 acres (7,340km²) across three permits in the East Coast basin.

NZEC has around 1.97 million acres of conventional and unconventional prospects in the Taranaki basin and East Coast basin of North Island.