OMV New Zealand Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of OMV AG, spudded the Toutouwai 1 exploration well in PEP 60093, located in the Taranaki Basin, on 8 March 2020. The well was drilled to a total depth of 4,317.3 m by the COSL Drilling Europe AS owned "COSL Prospector" rig which was released from the well location on 13 April 2020. The Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ) reported on 14 April 2020 that preliminary results indicate the well successfully encountered oil and gas.  The implications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and restrictions imposed by New Zealand's transition to "Alert Level 4" have limited the testing phase, with the well subsequently plugged and abandoned following positive indications from multiple intervals. With reference to Toutouwai 1, John Carnegie, PEPANZ CE, stated "the potential benefits to Taranaki and all New Zealand are substantial" and that the find could "help New Zealand's long-term energy security"  Toutouwai 1 is the first discovery to be made in New Zealand since 2014 and had pre-drill estimated recoverable resources of 90 MMboe. The well was drilled in a water depth of 131 m and had a target depth of 4,361 m, with the last casing point at 1,520 m. Targets included the Cretaceous North Cape Formation and Paleogene sandstones.   The contingent well was the third of a multi-well exploration campaign being undertaken by OMV in the Taranaki and Great South basins. The "COSL Prospector" rig was contracted to undertake the campaign and arrived at the Toutouwai location in early March 2020 after drilling the unsuccessful Tawhaki 1 well in the Great South Basin. The Maui 8 new-pool wildcat (PML 381012, Taranaki Basin) was due to follow Toutouwai 1 in Q2 2020, however the implications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mean the programme is now indefinitely suspended.    On 3 March 2020, climate activists boarded the COSL Prospector rig as it was moving to the Toutouwai 1 location. It is not clear if this resulted in a delay to the spud date.  PEP 60093 covers an area of 2,137 sq km was awarded on 16 December 2015. Interests in the permit are OMV New Zealand Ltd (40% plus operatorship), SapuraOMV Upstream (NZ) Sdn Bhd Ltd (30%) and Mitsui E&P Australia Pty Ltd (30%).
Toutouwai 1 nfw. (OMV 40% op, Mitsui E&P 30%, Sapura Energy 30%) in PEP 60093, offshore block, several hydrocarbon-charged layers encountered while drilling in Cretaceous sst, well now assumed P&A but considered a discovery,preliminary results indicate the well successfully encountered oil and gas. Target North Cape fm + Paleogene sst. WD=131m, TD=4317m.