Statoil Agrees to Acquire 30% Stake in New Zealand's PEP 57073

Statoil has agreed to acquire a 30 percent working interest in Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP) 57073 in New Zealand from OMV.

Following the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, OMV will remain the operator with a 70 percent working interest. The permit covers an area of 3,783 square miles in the East Coast Basin and sits in water depths of between 3,280 and 6,561 feet.

OMV and Statoil will work together on the exploration program in PEP 57073, which is adjacent to permits 57083, 57085 and 57087, which were awarded to Chevron and Statoil in 2014. The program includes geological and geophysical studies, as well as seismic acquisition “over the coming years”, according to a Statoil statement. This work will provide information necessary to decide if a well commitment should be made in the permit in 2021.

Statoil Senior Vice President for Exploration, Nicholas Alan Maden, commented in a company statement:

“This is an underexplored area with the potential for multiple plays, offering a considerable exploration upside.

“We now hold a working interest in more than 46,000 square kilometres (17,760 square miles) of exploration acreage in New Zealand, and all of these permits have staged exploration programs. This is in line with our exploration strategy of accessing at scale.”

In addition to the partnerships with Chevron and OMV in the East Coast and Pegasus basins, Statoil also operates two exploration permits in the Reinga basin.



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