Privately held Greymouth Petroleum has announced a gas discovery in the Turangi field, located in the northern Taranaki onshore region. The company reported strong gas flows along with oil condensate from this find.
“This is significant with virgin pressures encountered and flow rates exceeding comparable gas and hydrocarbon flow rates achieved in the early years of the concession,” Greymouth Petroleum said in a statement.
“It bodes well for ongoing regional drilling activity.”
Greymouth plans to continue drilling through 2025, targeting several “high impact” prospects.
“New Zealand has abundant indigenous petroleum resources, and these must be fully harnessed,” the company stated. Greymouth emphasised that New Zealand needed gas supplies to bridge new technologies, and without adequate gas, industries would “wither on the vine.”
Greymouth expressed readiness to use its own drilling rig and collaborate with the government on drilling for supercritical geothermal resources, which promise greater energy potential than conventional geothermal sources.
The company also urged major banks to support both the farming and processing sectors alongside extractive industries as they fulfil their commitments to sustainable finance.
Greymouth supplies about 20% of the gas market and holds approximately 35% of the nation’s known gas reserves.
The company’s recent discovery follows another announcement from New Zealand Energy Corporation (NZEC) regarding a gas supply discovery within the existing Tariki field, located in Taranaki. NZEC said while the find is promising, further testing is required to fully assess the extent of the gas supplies.