Oil exploration drilling in the Canterbury Basin off the coast of Dunedin is expected to be started next year by the joint-venture partners, Australian-listed Origin Energy and US giant Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.
Anadarko has pledged $US30 million ($NZ42.4 million) as its 50% share in the venture to explore the Carrack and Caravel prospects, 65km from Dunedin's coast, which are estimated to potentially contain more than 500 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Late last month, Anadarko said it was in informal discussions with other major oil companies with southern interests in the Great South Basin and that Anadarko, Exxon Mobil and OMV could share the costs of bringing an oil rig to New Zealand - prompting industry speculation that spring in 2011 would be the most settled time of year for a drilling programme.
Origin yesterday released a 183-page financial report for the full year to June, posting a huge decline in profit but including a summary of exploration activities in Australia, Kenya and South East Asia and exploration joint ventures in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
Origin noted in the report it had "farmed out" a 50% interest in the Canterbury Basin in New Zealand, "where its farm-out partner, Anadarko, will undertake drilling in 2011".
There has been no announcement by Anadarko, which did not respond to questions yesterday on the Canterbury permits, nor was any information released through Government permit agency Crown Minerals.
Origin said a well commitment in Canterbury "will become due in the 12 months from August 2010" Origin Energy reported a big fall to its statutory full year profit, with results impacted by the sell-down last year of its interest in a liquefied natural gas project.
The company reported a net profit of $A612 million ($NZ772.2 million) for fiscal 2010, a decrease of 91% compared with $6.9 billion profit the previous year.
But the company said underlying earnings before interest and tax were up 9%, at $A896 million.
