KEY POINTS:
An estimate of natural gas from the Maui field able to be easily recovered has increased slightly as expected, meaning the country is hopefully self-sufficient in gas for another seven years, Contact Energy says.
Maui joint-venture parties have estimated 62 petajoules (PJ) of natural gas that was previously given a 50 per cent chance of being recovered (P50) now has an 85 per cent chance of being recovered (P85) from the field.
The gas is part of a contract with Contact and Vector signed in 2006.
A petajoule is equivalent to the electricity used by a city of 40,000 people, such as Porirua.
Contact's share in the additional 62 PJs of natural gas is 61.6 per cent, or 38 PJ, and forms part of gas supply agreements executed in October 2006.
Contact chief executive David Baldwin said the firming of the P50 reserves to P85 was expected, and supported Contact's view of the likely sufficiency of domestic sources of gas to about 2015.
Since the 1970s, the offshore Taranaki field has dominated the country's natural gas production, but it is depleting. In 2006, Contact secured entitlements to 170 PJ of Maui gas and Vector 105 PJ until 2014.
- NZPA
