2011-06-17-2011-05-31

To acquire 50% WI in Alton permit) in Taranaki Basin offshore New Zealand.

Privately held, Vancouver-based New Zealand Energy Corp. plans to acquire 50% working interest in the Alton permit (PEP 51151) in New Zealand from AGL Upstream Gas (MOS) Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of AGL Energy Ltd., Sydney, Australia, (Australia: AGK) for C$2.2 million.

The Alton permit offsets New Zealand Energy's Eltham permit (PEP 51150) in the Taranaki Basin on which the company recently drilled and cased the Copper Moki-1 discovery well targeting the Urenui and Mount Messenger formations.

The permit features five leads that in aggregate add 380 million barrels of oil equivalent net undiscovered petroleum initially in place and 34.6 net million barrels equivalent prospective resource on New Zealand Energy's Taranaki Basin land holdings.

New Zealand Energy has also reached an agreement with L&M Energy Ltd., Christchurch, New Zealand, (New Zealand: LME) the holder of the remaining 50% working interest in the Alton permit. L&M has agreed to waive its preemptive right to acquire the interest in the Alton permit and transfer its operatorship of the permit to New Zealand Energy. The L&M agreement provides that New Zealand will fund 100% of L&M's costs for drilling the Talon-1 well and the first NZ$500,000 of completion costs.

New Zealand plans to spend C$6.05 million for the drilling of two wells, including the Talon-1 exploration well, on the Alton permit.