Mosaic has concentrated on acquiring New Zealand acreage within the Taranaki Basin, which has an established the gas market and a well-developed infrastructure.
Taranaki is New Zealand’s sole oil and gas producing basin with an expected ultimate recovery (EUR) from existing fields and discoveries under development of approximately 7 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas and more than half a billion barrels of oil and condensate.
Mosaic’s exploration focus is in two well-defined prospective trends in the onshore/ near-shore Taranaki Basin: the Eocene coastal reservoir fairway and the Eastern Margin trend.
Mosaic has now firmed up the second of three named projects with the execution of the farm-in to PEP 51149, complementing its existing interest in PEP 51151 and its application for the Kaheru block (PEP 52181).
Currently in the seismic acquisition and geological and geophysical phase, the three projects will ultimately result in a drilling program of up to five exploration wells in 2011-2012 targeting both oil and gas-condensate, including some with sizeable potential.
This program will give the company exposure to several plays with differing risk profiles in prospects on established Taranaki hydrocarbon-producing trends. The drilling is expected to be funded from increases in production from the company’s Queensland assets over the next couple of years.
Alex Parks, CEO of Mosaic Oil, said: “Mosaic is maturing a portfolio in New Zealand that will result in an affordable yet material drilling program, giving Mosaic and our shareholders the potential of major discoveries in a region that is highly prospective for oil and gas.”
