By NZPA
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Tuesday 1st May 2007 |
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The regulatory approval process for a public offering of shares in the mine, near Greymouth, was well advanced, NZOG said today in an activities report for the quarter to the end of March.
A prospectus for the public offer was lodged for review in March with the Companies Office and the stock exchange.
The rate of advance in the mine tunnel had improved since early January, but remained behind schedule, NZOG said.
Daily advances were now routinely exceeding the projected rate for the relevant rock class, but the rock class had not yet significantly improved.
By April 23 the tunnel had advanced 641m of the total 2300m to the coal seam.
Access roads were now substantially finished, site building had started and all other major contracts were on target to support the critical path schedule.
The Pike River mine in the Paparoa Range is capable of producing high quality coking coal which will be sold to India.
NZOG said it had spent $32 million during the quarter on its three development projects.
Along with Pike River, those projects are the Kupe gas and oil field, in which NZOG has a 15% interest and the Tui oilfield in which NZOG's interest is 12.5%. Both fields are offshore from Taranaki.
The cost of the Tui development had risen from $US225m ($NZ307.6m) to $US245m due to actual and projected increases in drilling and completion costs of the four production wells, NZOG said. First oil was scheduled for June.
The billion dollar Kupe project remained on schedule for first production by mid-2009.
New chief executive David Salisbury said the three developments would be transformational for NZOG.
Chairman Tony Radford said the company was poised to become a substantial energy producer.
NZOG has shares in other exploration prospects in the Taranaki basin, with plans to drill an exploration well at the Hector prospect in mid-2007, slightly later than previously planned because priority had been given to the Tui development.
NZOG shares were up 1c to 97c at lunchtime today.
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