OMV believes New Zealand is an attractive exploration destination, given this country's hydrocarbon potential and good fiscal terms, and intends maximising the exploration and development opportunities the presented by the purchases.
Shell New Zealand last week announced the sale of a 10% interest in Maui and all (49%) of its interest in the more southerly Maari licence to OMV.
Shell NZ chairman Lloyd Taylor said the Maui sale and purchase agreements with OMV Australia Pty Ltd were for the sale of 10% of the Maui joint venture, including all associated infrastructure, and the Maui gas contracts. The sale of Shell's 49% joint venture share in the Maari petroleum exploration permit (PEP 38413) and its potential oil field development was a totally separate transaction.
Helmut Langanger, OMV's management board member responsible for exploration and production, believes the 10% Maui purchase is an ideal enhancement of OMV's existing offshore portfolio in the Taranaki Basin. That portfolio consists of interests in the Maari licence PEP 38413 and two newly-granted licences - PEP 38481 and 38482.
"The geographical proximity to the fields of Maui and Maari will generate technological synergies, full advantage of which will be taken in further evaluation of these blocks.
"Participation in the Maui field paves the way for OMV to establish itself as a significant player in New Zealand," said Mr Langanger from Austria.
He also confirmed OMV would take over from Shell Todd Oil Services as Maari operator and that it planned an appraisal well in the permit this coming January.
The well would be drilled by the Diamond Offshore Drilling Company's Ocean Bounty semi-submersible rig, which is presently drilling the Casino-2 well for Santos and Strike Oil in Bass Strait, Australia.
Mr Langanger said the 10% stake in Maui would add around 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to OMV's daily global production during the last quarter of 2002. This would probably enable OMV to meet its production target of 100,000 boe per day by the end of 2002. The OMV group wanted to double its current daily oil and natural gas production to160, 000 boe by 2008.
OMV has been active in New Zealand since 1999, with its activities here being directed by subsidiary Perth-based OMV Australia Pty Ltd. OMV's September, 1999, acquisition of Australian company, and former Maari partner, Cultus Petroleum was the first successful takeover by the Austrian group down under.
It now participates in 19 exploration blocks (onshore and offshore) in Australia and New Zealand; and in 13 of these blocks OMV is the operator. OMV Australia's current daily production is about 4000 boe (barrels oil equivalent) from two fields - the Cooper Basin and the Jabiru Challis oilfield.
There are also industry rumours that OMBV will quickly move to expand its New Zealand presence even further by bidding for Preussag Energie, which holds interests in several Taranaki exploration permits, including the offshore 1tcf-plus Pohokura gas field. German giant Preussag is believed to be considering selling its travel and energy subsidiaries.
There are also unconfirmed rumours that OMV is one of the parties talking with electricity generator Genesis Power about taking an interest in the undeveloped Kupe field and possibly taking over as operator of the marginal gas-condensate discovery which has lain undeveloped off south Taranaki since discovered by a consortium headed by New Zealand Oil and Gas in 1986.
Last week Taylor said the sale of the Maui interest completed the divestment programme of physical assets required by the Commerce Commission when Shell acquired Fletcher Challenge Energy (FCE) in March last year.
However, Shell had asked the Commerce Commission for an extension for the sale of the last divestment asset, its Energy Gas Contracts gas wholesaling unit, formerly known as Fletcher Challenge Gas Investments.
