The East Cape Permit covers 4,320 square km (over 1 million acres) at a 100% working interest and offsets onshore trends currently being drilled by competitors, as well as a large offshore permit that has not yet been drilled. The East Cape Permit is still pending approval by Crown regulators.

The East Cape Permit contains numerous oil and natural gas seeps and is largely underlain by the Whangai and Walpawa shales at depths to 5,000 metres. There are also conventional leads in sandstone horizons with potential structural traps. The permit is estimated to contain unconventional resources of 13,148.1 million barrels OOIP and best estimate recoverable resources of 302.1 million barrels (2% recovery rate), with conventional resources of 615.6 million barrels OOIP and best case recoverable resources of 53.3 million barrels (9% recovery rate).

NZEC’s work commitment on the East Cape Permit includes a mix of technical and geophysical work, plus drilling at least one well over the medium term.