NZOG (New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd) advises that as at 06:00 hours on 11 December, the following operations have been completed on Albacore-1:
• The 20 inch section has been drilled to a final depth of 207m MDRT (measured depth below rotary table) with casing run and cemented.
• The 17-1/2 inch section has been drilled to a final depth of 1173m MDRT.
• 13-3/8 inch casing has been set at 1161m MDRT.
The current operations involve drilling out cement and preparing to drill ahead in the 12-1/4 inch hole.
The well has an expected total depth of 2200 metres. The first of several drilling targets is a Pliocene Fan at approximately 1470 metres.
Albacore-1 is an exploration well located 70km north of New Plymouth in the northern offshore Taranaki basin. Drilling began on 5 December 2009 and is expected to take approximately 20 days to reach total planned depth. The well will then be plugged and abandoned and the results analysed.
Participants in the Albacore permit are:
Westech (Operator) 50%
New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd (through its subsidiary NZOG Offshore Ltd) 40%
Mighty River Power Gas Investments 10%
