OMV to Spud Matuku Well This Week (New Zealand)

Octanex N.L. has reported that OMV New Zealand Limited (OMV),the Operator of the Joint Venture exploring PEP 51906 (Permit) in New Zealand, has advised the Company that the Matuku-1 well is due to spud within the next 5 days, most likely on Friday, 22 November 2013.

The Permit is located in the offshore Taranaki Basin of New Zealand, where the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Octanex NZ Limited (Octanex NZ), also holds varying participating interests in three other permits.

Octanex NZ holds a 22.5% participating interest in the Permit; with OMV holding a 65% interest and New Zealand Oil & Gas Limited (NZOG) (ASX Code: NZO) the remaining 12.5% interest. OMV acquired its 65% interest as a result of farming into Octanex NZ’s then 100% interest in the Permit; while NZOG purchased its 12.5% interest from Octanex NZ in November 2012.

As part of its original farmin arrangements, OMV agreed that Octanex NZ would be free carried through all phases of a 3D seismic survey and the first well drilled in the Permit. Matuku-1 will be that free carried well and it will fulfil the Permit’s work programme requirement to drill an exploration well by 18 March 2014.

Matuku-1 is programmed as a vertical well to be drilled by the Kan Tan IV semi-submersible rig in water depths of approximately 130m. Dependent upon the results while intersecting the zones of interest (as detailed below), the well will be drilled to a potential total depth (TD) of approximately 4750m MDRT (measured depth below rotary table). Matuku-1 is scheduled to take 45 days to drill to TD and then abandon.

The Kan Tan IV is capable of operating in water depths up to 450m and drilling to depths of approximately 7600m. The rig is a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) operated by Frigstad Offshore Ltd, a company providing management services for offshore drilling rigs.

The handover of the rig to the PEP 51906 Joint Venture is currently scheduled to take place on 19 November, with OMV taking the rig from the joint venture that recently completed drilling the Manaia- 2/2A well in the adjoining PMP 38160 permit.

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November 18, 2013