TAG Oil Ltd. plans to production-test the Cheal E-1 and E-2 wells in New Zealand’s Taranaki basin starting in mid-October after logs indicated that each well encountered hydrocarbon-bearing strata in the Urenui and Mount Messenger formations, said East West Petroleum Corp., Vancouver, BC.
East West is a partner with TAG Oil in a nine-well exploratory drilling program in the basin.
Cheal-E2, in the Cheal North exploration permit, went to a total depth of 2,198 m.
The Nova-1 rig will now drill the Cheal E-3 well to another Urenui and Mount Messenger prospect on the Cheal North permit.