Shell, OMV, Mitsui to target NZ’s Great South Basin, seeking ‘next Taranaki’

Shell, OMV, Mitsui to target NZ’s Great South Basin, seeking ‘next Taranaki’
Jan. 7 (BusinessDesk) – Shell New Zealand and its joint venture partners OMV New Zealand and Mitsui E&P Australia are to drill an exploration well in the Great South Basin, off the South Island’s southeast coast, in a move the energy industry hopes will create ‘the next Taranaki.’ Shell, the operating partner, may begin drilling in 2016. The partners have an interest in two licences that run through 2017. Shell took over from OMV as operator in 2011 when it bought in to the permits. OMV has previously said it needed deep-sea drilling expertis...