OilVoice - First Light Crude From Kupe Leaves Port Taranaki

First Light Crude From Kupe Leaves Port Taranaki

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Origin Energy New Zealand ('Origin'), on behalf of the Kupe Joint Venture, has announced that the first shipment of light crude will leave Port Taranaki next week.

Tanker ship, the British Chivalry will arrive in Port Taranaki on 17 January to begin loading the first light crude from the Kupe Gas Project. The initial 120,000-180,000 barrel shipment is contracted to BP and is bound for the Kwinana Refinery in Australia.

Kupe has been producing natural gas, LPG and light crude since the wells were opened in early December. The light crude has been progressively trucked from the gas processing plant at Hawera and stored at the Kupe Tank Farm at Omata, near Port Taranaki.

Origin Energy New Zealand General Manager, Mr Chris Bush said production of gas and light crude had been proceeding as expected since the commissioning had begun, and the first shipment would be a significant milestone for the project.

Over the next 15-20 years, Kupe is expected to provide approximately 254 petajoules of natural gas, 1.1 million tonnes of LPG and 14.7 million barrels of light crude.

The light crude will be exported to refineries in the Australasian and South Pacific regions over the life of the project.

The complex offshore and onshore Kupe production system is online and operating successfully. Over the next two months Origin, as operator, will continue to systematically test the remaining plant and equipment associated with the offshore and onshore facilities.

Mr Bush said once Kupe was fully operational it would make a significant contribution to New Zealand's gas supply needs. It will provide 10-15 per cent of the nation's annual gas demand and more than 50 per cent of the country's LPG demand.

Kupe Gas Project participants are:
Origin Energy Resources (Kupe) Limited* 50 per cent (Operator)
Genesis Energy 31 per cent
New Zealand Oil & Gas Limited 15 per cent
Mitsui E&P Australia Pty Ltd 4 per cent

*a wholly owned subsidiary of Origin Energy Limited