Sunda Energy plc has been granted a 10-year petroleum mining licence for the Puka oil and gas field and the Oru exploration prospect, located onshore Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand.
Puka, which contains Oru, and Cheal, Cheal East and Sidewinder are four permits in which the company is acquiring a 100% working interest and operatorship.
Sunda states that the combined assets produce around 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which it believes it could more than double through exploration and development.
The company said that restarting production from Puka and drilling the Oru-2 exploration well were “key components of Sunda’s investment plan in New Zealand”.
Sunda’s operations are through its conditional acquisition of Matahio Energy NZ Ltd, parent to Matahio NZ Onshore Ltd, which was granted the permit.
Sunda hopes to complete the acquisition in September 2026.