http://nz.biz.yahoo.com//091104/3/fhh8.html

Contact Energy has spudded the first of an additional three wells at its $250 million Ahuroa underground natural gas storage facility near Stratford.

When finished, the three wells will enable sustained gas injection and extraction into and from the depleted gas field.

The facility will enable Contact to take natural gas during periods when the market does not need it, storing it underground for use during peak gas and electricity demand periods.

The aim is to restore gas supply flexibility, enabling Contact to shut down its gas-fired power stations when not needed without being penalised by rigid take or pay gas supply contracts.

Contact said today that since a new compressor was installed and commissioned on the site in early October, it had been injecting gas into the field at a rate of around 40 terajoules per day.

The first of the three additional wells was spudded last night, marking the next phase of the Ahuroa development, the company said.