New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. (NZO.NZ) said Friday the first
shipment of light crude oil from the Kupe field will be loaded next
week for shipping to BP Plc's (BP) Kwinana refinery in Western
Australia state.
The 120,000-180,000 barrels of crude oil is due to leave Port
Taranaki in New Zealand on the British Chivalry tanker.
The Kupe gas and oil field, which lies 30 kilometers off the
south Taranaki coast of New Zealand, has been producing natural
gas, liquefied petroleum gas and light crude oil since early
December.
Once fully operational, Kupe will provide 10%-15% of New
Zealand's annual gas demand and more than 50% of its LPG demand,
New Zealand Oil & Gas said in a statement.
Australia's Origin Energy Ltd. (ORG.AU) is the leading
shareholder in the Kupe field, with a 50% interest, and acts as
operator. New Zealand Oil & Gas has a 15% equity stake.
-By David Winning, Dow Jones Newswires; +61-2-82724688;
david.winning@dowjones.com