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The Maari and associated Manaia fields are likely to account for half of the country’s oil production over the next few years, plus around half of oil liquids reserves. By Lindsay Clark.
This is likely to lift oil liquids output to a record level of approximately 22 million barrels over the 2010 calendar year. But it could be touch and go whether a new level is set. The current record of 21,327,000 barrels was established in 1997 when reservoirs of crude oil found underneath the Maui B gas condensate field was at full peak while large volumes of condensate (sweet light oil) were being stripped from Maui gas. In 2008 when the prolific Tui crude oil field hit a peak of 13.4 million barrels, domestic oil production went within a hair’s breadth of passing the 1997 figure. The 2008 output at 21,298,000 barrels was just 29,000 barrels short of the 1997 total. Tui oil production dropped sharply in 2009 to 6.2 million barrels – less than half the previous year – but will decline slightly slower in 2010 to about four million barrels. This year it will be Maari oil that will be a big boost to production possibly growing to about 11-12 million barrels from 5.8 million produced to December 2009. The first production well began flowing on February 25 last year and all five main Moki sand wells have been producing since August. The connection of the two additional reservoirs drilled later last year is expected to give the Maari field the capability of running at peak capacity for perhaps two or three years before production falls off.
Energy NZ Vol.4 No.2 March-April 2010 |
The Maari and Kupe gas condensate fields, the last of the four Taranaki offshore petroleum projects built since 2005, will come fully on stream in the first half of 2010.