Review of geology and exploration activities PPL38120. Offshore Taranaki Basin

PPL 38120 is located near the southern margins of the Taranaki Basin. The licence is situated along the north coast of the South Island, about 20 miles south of Maui-4. Seventeen wells have tested the offshore part of this basin. Up to 7,000m of Upper Cretaceous to Recent sediments may be present within the Taranaki Graben. The sedimentary section thins towards PPL 38120, averaging about 2500m through the Licence. The Upper Cretaceous to Eocene Pakawau and Kapuni Formations constitute the pri-mary exploration objectives. These units are sealed by a transgressive Tertiary marine sequence. Structures are related to Cretaceous rifting, modified by Late Tertiary wrench faulting. All of NZs commercial hydrocarbon discoveries have been made in this basin.