OMV completes Maari field redevelopment. NZ Energy minister pleased

Austrian OMV has completed its Maari offshore field redevelopment project in New Zealand, and accepted praise from the island nations’ energy minister.

The company has announced that its Maari Growth drilling campaign is now completed and Maari’s field production capacity is expected to double with the last well (MR-10) currently being tied-in to the production network.

Over the 15-month long project, four new wells were drilled with a total of 21,660 m measured length. More than 1.5 million man-hours and over $500 million New Zealand Dollars. have been invested in the project, OMV said Thursday. The Maari Growth project was the first development activity to be granted a Marine consent for offshore development drilling after the new EEZ act came into force, the company added.

“Redeveloping a producing, mature field is never an easy task,” OMV New Zealand’s Managing Director Peter Zeilinger said. “The team has delivered an outstanding safety record with no lost time injury on the platforms. Simultaneous drilling, production and construction activities have been managed efficiently and safely.”

The ENSCO-107 jack-up drilling rig is currently being prepared to demobilise from the Maari field, with the exact time frame depending on a suitable weather window.

The Maari field is located in a water depth of 100 m, around 80 km off the Taranaki coast of New Zealand. The field was developed by OMV New Zealand as operator of the Maari Joint Venture (JV) and began production in February 2009. It now has a total of 11 wells, a combination of production and water-injection. The new wells all use existing slots of the well-head platform.

Energy Minister’s praise

Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges today congratulated OMV on their achievement.

“This is good news for OMV and for New Zealand. I’m really pleased to see OMV’s long-term investment continuing to pay off,” Bridges said.

“The National Government’s hard work in this area has delivered significant levels of exploration activity. By necessity, the petroleum sector has a long-term view and – even with the current low global oil price – we remain confident that New Zealand remains attractive for those wanting to invest,” Bridges added.

Maari’s field output capacity has naturally declined over the last 6 years from its peak of around 40,000 barrels of oil per day to about a quarter of the maximum rates.

Offshore Energy Today Staff