The new permit has been named Te Whatu and covers a large area totaling 2,595 square kilometers (sq km) and includes most of the area covered by Todd Exploration’s former PEP 38494 Matariki permit located due south of Maari.
The area was awarded under the Priority-In-Time method by Crown Minerals.
The new expanded permit’s work program calls for an additional 200 sq km of 3D seismic acquisition to be acquired over the Matariki prospect and either 600 km of 2D or 200 sq km of 3D seismic in the Te Whatu and Pukeko areas in the western and northern sections of the permit.
Subject to satisfactory results from the new seismic, the work programme also calls for two exploration wells, one to be drilled in the Matariki prospect area south of Maari and one in the Te Whatu-Pukeko area targeting Cretaceous sandstone reservoirs.
