Manaia oil tests may take six months

The Manaia well is near the Maari field off the Taranaki coast. Photo / Rob Tucker

OMV New Zealand says it will take months to establish the recoverable reserves from the country's newest productive oil field.

About 4000 barrels a day are flowing from the Manaia well, near the Maari field off the Taranaki coast.

"Now that oil flow has been established, the focus turns to production testing. This includes assessing the field's production rate, oil properties and determining if additional wells might be warranted," said OMV New Zealand managing director Wayne Kirk.

It could take between three months and six months to determine recoverable reserves. Meanwhile, the oil was being graded for sale.

"We're very much at the early stages. We'll be assessing the reserves and if things are positive we'll be assessing further wells to tap it."

The well would be shut at some stage to allow pressure to rebuild.

The field is 2km below the sea floor and was drilled from the well head platform at the Maari field, 6km away.

"Hitting the target- the size of your front door - from 8km away was a major achievement," Kirk said.

OMV NZ holds a 69 per cent stake in the project, Todd Maari holds 16 per cent, Horizon Oil International, 10 per cent, and Cue Taranaki, 5 per cent.

OMV has been active here since 1999 when it acquired shares in the Maari oil discovery which it developed and now operates.

It also holds shares in the Maui and Pohokura gas fields and the Maui pipeline and has nine offshore exploration permits in the Taranaki and Great South Basin regions.

Earlier this week another Great South Basin venture - ExxonMobil and Todd Energy - announced they were abandoning their permit, saying risks outweighed potential returns.