New Zealand Energy Corp., Vancouver, BC, reported a flowing production rate of 580 b/d of 41.8° gravity oil and 970 scf/bbl of associated gas at Copper Moki-1, its first well in New Zealand’s Taranaki basin.

Surface facilities will handle as much as 1,000 b/d of oil. The company will install permanent facilities by mid-2012 that can be expanded to handle output from more wells. Produced oil is being trucked to the Shell-operated Omata tank farm 45 km north. NZEC is evaluating options to market its gas.

NZEC plans to spud the Copper Moki-2 delineation well by the end of 2011 from the same pad as Copper Moki-1 to target the Urenui and Mount Messenger formations. It will spud Copper Moki-3 on completion of Copper Moki-2 and will target the Mount Messenger, Urenui, and Moki formations.