6 August 2012
Oil and gas giant Shell made a profit of $162 million from its fields in Taranaki last year, including the huge but ageing Maui and Kapuni gas fields.
Shell sold its retail petrol stations in New Zealand in 2010, but it maintains its large and profitable oil and gas production fields in Taranaki and is a partner in a joint venture to explore for more in the Great South Basin off the bottom of the South Island.
It is possible partners in the Great South Basin could drill an exploration well in the summer of 2014-15, but they are still analysing data from seismic testing.
Shell and its partners – Austrian company OMV and Todd Energy – are also trying to extend the field life of the long-running offshore Maui field and the onshore Kapuni gas field in south Taranaki, with plans to “frack” a couple of planned Kapuni wells in the coming year.
Fracking is a controversial drilling process that involves pumping chemicals into wells to force gas or oil out. Opponents say it can contaminate groundwater.
Shell argues fracking is safe.
Shell Investment NZ’s annual results for the 2011 year showed after-tax profits were down about $20m to $162m for the year.
Shell refused to say how much it paid in royalties to the government, but it paid $64m in tax in the past year.
Shell paid a $100m dividend to its parent company for the year, down from $247m in the previous year.
Total revenues were up, to $1.33 billion, from $1.28b in the previous year as a result of worldwide oil and condensate price increases. The slightly higher revenues were undone by various higher costs.
Shell is the dominant partner in the 33-year old Maui gas field, which produces about 20 per cent of the country’s gas.
The partners in the Maui field are now trying to maximise reserves and extend the field life, with a new drilling programme to target gas bypassed earlier. The “AD ihi” prospect will be redrilled from the Maui A platform and up to seven existing wells will be sidetracked in coming months.
Drilling continues from the existing wells on the Maui B platform, where up to seven wells are being sidetracked, to get more gas.
The latest Crown Minerals figures show Maui originally had the equivalent of about 157 million barrels of oil, though remaining reserves were down to just a few million barrels.
Shell is also a 48 per cent partner in the valuable Pohokura gas field off Taranaki.
Last month it was reported that a big drilling rig had yet to start a $40m drilling campaign aimed at extending the life of Kapuni, the country’s oldest gasfield, even though it arrived in New Zealand about six months ago.
The project will involve a work-over of an existing well in the Kapuni field and the drilling of two new wells from an existing well site. The project is expected to take around 10 months. Shell Todd Oil Services has consent for fracking for two new wells at Kapuni.
STOS general manager and chairman for Shell in New Zealand Rob Jager has said: “We think [fracking] can work; it can certainly be done safely.
“If it works it’s possible to anticipate . . . more wells at Kapuni.”
In May, Shell New Zealand took control of a joint venture exploration in the Great South Basin, saying there are good indications of natural gas after $100m of exploration in the “frontier” area.
SHELL’S INTERESTS IN NEW ZEALAND
Maui offshore Taranaki gas field: 83.75 per cent
Maui Development Ltd, operator of Maui pipeline: 83.75 per cent
Shell Todd Oil Services, operator of Maui, Kapuni and Kaheru: 50 per cent
Kapuni onshore Taranaki gas field: 50 per cent
Pohokura, offshore Taranaki gas field: 48 per cent
Great South Basin, exploration joint venture: 50 per cent
– © Fairfax NZ News
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