The announcement made by Todd Energy which said that ExxonMobil has decided to abandon its PEP 50117 permits which was to come up in Great South Basin, has been totally underplayed by Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee.

While talking to NBR, Todd said that it was a good idea that Exxon wanted to take another year before deciding about its project. It was needed so that Exxon is able to do some extra work and also gets more time to get its global perspective together.

The sign of withdrawal, said the minister, is a sign of significant opportunity and allows other players to get permit acreage as well.

Because of this decision, the seismic data collected by ExxonMobil will now be owned by Crown and it will make the other companies also get involved with the permit acreage. These companies can be offered other blocks later during the next year.

The OMVs have the exploration rights in the Great South basin, the area around which is roughly three times the size of PEP 50117. The other two areas- Anadarko and Origin, which operate further in Canterbury basin provide very positive opportunities.