New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics

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Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy of Taranaki Basin,

New Zealand

Julie Palmer

To cite this article: Julie Palmer (1985) Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy of Taranaki Basin,
New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 28:2, 197-216, DOI:
10.1080/00288306.1985.10422220

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.1985.10422220

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New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1985, Vo!. 28: 197-216
0028-8306/85/2802-0197$2.50/0 © Crown copyright 1985
Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy of Taranaki Basin, New Zealand
JULIE PALMER
Petroleum Corporation of New Zealand (Explora-
tion) Ltd
P.O. Box 5082
Wellington, New Zealand
Abstract The stratigraphy and sedimentology
of the Paleocene-Oligocene sedimentary sequence
of Taranaki Basin is reviewed using data obtained
from exploration wells. Sixteen of these wells are
sited in the Taranaki Graben, an infilled, down-
faulted block extending westwards from the Tar-
anaki Fault to the Cape Egmont Fault Zone. A
further seven wells are sited on the Western Plat-
form, which extends westwards from the Cape
Egmont Fault Zone seaward to beyond the edge of
the continental shelf.
In the past, the lithostratigraphic nomenclature
applied to the sequences encountered in the wells
was adopted from adjoining onshore areas. Where
existing names were inadequate, new names were
created, but never formally defined.
The term "Kapuni Formation" is an informal
name for the Paleocene-Oligocene sandstone-coal
measure sequence which was first encountered in
the Kapuni-1 well. It is proposed that the thick
sequence currently known as the Kapuni Forma-
tion be formally named the Kapuni Group. Kapuni
Group is subdivided into four formations. From
oldest to youngest they are Kaimiro Formation,
Ornata Formation, Mangahewa Formation, and
McKee Formation. A lateral, fully marine equiva-
lent of the Kapuni Group is described.
A further three formations are defined. The
Whaingaroan marine mudstone (Kaiata Formation
of Shell BP and Todd Oil Services Ltd) is here
named the Turi Formation; the Whaingaroan-Wai-
takian calcareous siltstone sequence informally
known as the lower Mahoenui Group is named the
Otaraoa Formation; and the Waitakian limestone
immediately underlying the Mahoenui Formation
proper is here named the Tikorangi Formation.
The stratigraphy of Taranaki Basin is compared
with that of adjoining onshore areas to the north
and south. Similarities are apparent and possible
northern and southern correlatives are proposed.
Received 22 July 1983. accepted 28 August 1984
Sig. I·
197
The environments of deposition of the various
units range from bathyal to outer shelf through
inner shelf to lagoonal and terrestrial. Based on
these interpretations, a paleogeographic recon-
struction of Taranaki Basin shows a major pre-
Miocene transgression. It progressed across the
basin in a generally southeasterly direction. The
proximity of sediment source combined with a
transgressive shoreline accounts for the diachron-
ous nature of the lithostratigraphic boundaries.
Keywords Kapuni Group; Kaimiro Formation;
Ornata Formation; Mangahewa Formation; McKee
Formation; Tikorangi Formation; Otaraoa For-
mation; Turi Formation; Matapo Sandstone Mem-
ber;: new stratigraphic names; Taranaki Basin;
paleoenvironment
INTRODUCTION
Taranaki Basin, which lies along the western side
of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the
country's largest sedimentary basins. It extends
westward from the Taranaki Fault Zone (Fig. I)
and underlies the Taranaki peninsula and much of
the adjacent continental shelf and slope (McBeath
1976). The basin extends northwards from the
northwest of the South Island to about the latitude
of Auckland (Pilaar & Wakefield 1978; Fig. 1).
Taranaki Basin contains a thick sequence of Late
Cretaceous-Recent sediments that overlie Paleo-
zoic and early Mesozoic basement rocks. Isolated
occurrences of pre-Miocene sediments crop out in
the basin, but most information on the oldest part
of the sequence comes from wells drilled for hydro-
carbon exploration and production. The first sig-
nificant well was Kapuni-I, drilled in 1959 by Shell
BP and Todd Oil ServicesLimited (SBPT). It drilled
the Kapuni Structure and discovered New Zealand's
first commercial gas-condensate field. Since 1959,
a further 25 wildcat wells have penetrated the pre-
Miocene sedimentary sequence. Of these, Maui-I
discovered the offshore Maui gas-condensate field
in 1969, and McKee-2 discovered the onshore
McKee oil field in 1980. The three fields produce
from Paleocene-Oligocene sandstones of the
Kapuni "Formation". Other wells that penetrated
the Kapuni Formation contained some hydrocar-
bons. The most significant are.the onshore wells
Mangahewa-1, Urenui-1, and McKee-I; and the
offshore well Maui-4 (Fig. 1).
198 New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1985, Vol. 28

173·00'E
~
SCALE
10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 km
I , " , I I ! I I I I I I I ,

I
TANE -1
~ GRANITE
4444m
39"oo'S

WESTERN
PLATFORM

40·00'S

FRESNE-1
NOTE All depths metres subsea
-¢-COOK-1 - - unless otherwise stated

* After Knox 1961

ji7S·00'E

Fig. 1 Major structural elements of Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, showing the location of exploration wells drilled
since 1959 and the distribution, type, and depth of basement in wells drilled in the basin and on the adjacent Patea-
Tongaporutu High,
Palmer-Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy, Taranaki Basin
Many of the lithostratigraphic names applied to
the sequences encountered in Taranaki Basin wells
were adopted from adjoining onshore areas. In the
past, where existing names were inadequate, new
names were created, but never formally defined,
and boundaries therefore were often vague. The
resulting stratigraphic nomenclature contained
uncertainties and was often used inconsistently.
This paper provides a lithostratigraphic nomencla-
ture for the Late Cretaceous-Oligocene sediments,
based on data gathered from exploration and pro-
duction wells. Several new names are introduced.
Hedberg (1976) has been followed in constructing
the nomenclature. The depository for material used
in this study (i.e. ditch cutting samples, cores and
well logs (Table 1)) is the New Zealand Geological
Survey, Lower Hutt. Unless stated otherwise, the
datum for all well depths is below kelly bushing
(BKB).
STRUCTURE
Taranaki Basin is composed of two major struc-
tural blocks (Fig. 1), the Western Platform and the
Taranaki Graben (Pilaar & Wakefield 1978; Knox
1982). The Western Platform, over 100 km wide,
is the western, wholly offshore part of the basin. It
is characterised by broad, simple structure and
2000-5000 m of Late Cretaceous-Recent sedi-
ments. It was affected by Late Cretaceous-Eocene
normal block faulting, which created local fault-
angle depressions or half grabens (Pilaar & Wake-
field 1978), but has been relatively stable through-
out the remainder ofthe Tertiary. The north-south
to northeast-southwest trending Cape Egmont Fault
Zone (Fig. 1) consists of a series of steep, subpar-
allel, normal to reverse faults (McBeath 1977);
maximum throw is 2100 m.
The north-south trending Taranaki Fault Zone
(Fig. 1) consists of a narrow zone of steep reverse
faults that become nearly vertical and normal with
depth (Pilaar & Wakefield 1978). The zone was
downthrown on the western side, resulting in the
accumulation of a thick sedimentary sequence in
the adjacent graben. Several aligned, shallow thrust
faults are associated with the Taranaki Fault. They
comprise the Tarata Thrust Fault Zone (Haskell
1981) (Fig. 1). Vertical throw along the Taranaki
Fault Zone is estimated to be 7000 m (McBeath
1976), and the top of the Kapuni Formation adja-
cent to the fault is at least 5000 m below sea level.
East of the Taranaki Fault lies the Patea-Tonga-
porutu High, an upthrust basement block which
separates Taranaki Basin from the late Cenozoic
Wanganui Basin to the east (Fig. 1).
The overall structure of the Taranaki Graben is
controlled by movement along basement and Late
199
Cretaceous-Eocene faults. From Late Eocene to at
least Late Miocene time, folding in the graben
occurred contemporaneously with deposition. Sev-
eral generally north-south trending anticlines occur.
Their extended growth is evidenced by thinning of
the sedimentary sequence at the crest of each.
Examples include the Kapuni, Maui, Inglewood,
Kaimiro, Mangahewa, and Kupe Structures.
BASEMENT
Basement rocks crop out in northwest Nelson and
east of the Taranaki Basin in Waitomo County.
Basement has only been encountered in wellsdrilled
offshore. The nature of basement varies from well
to well (Fig. 1). Two wells in the northern part of
the basin, Mangaa-l and Tangaroa-I, encountered
andesitic and basaltic lavas. Although these rocks
may not be true basement, they obscured the
underlying rocks and, at the time of drilling, were
considered economic basement. In Moa-l B, schis-
tose basement was encountered. Further south,
basement is a granite-diorite suite of rocks. The
proven depth to basement ranges from 4444 m
below sea level in Tane-l, in the northwest Tar-
anaki Basin, to 1521 m below sea level in Tasman-
1, in the South Taranaki Basin. There is a general
southward shallowing of basement and, onshore in
northwest Nelson, granite and schist crop out at
the surface.
Basement rocks have not yet been drilled in the
onshore Taranaki Graben. Seismic data indicate
that, in the deepest parts of the graben, the sedi-
mentary cover may be as thick as 7000 m.
STRATIGRAPHY
The surface geology of the Taranaki peninsula is
dominated by Recent volcanics (Hay 1967; Neall
1979), which mask the Upper Cretaceous-Recent
sedimentary sequence. Hay (1967) and Neall (1979),
and Bishop (1971), map the stratigraphy of the out-
cropping basin sequence for onshore Taranaki and
northwest Nelson, respectively. However, the
extent, nature, and age of the underlying sediments
was unknown before wells were drilled. Several
authors refer to, and briefly describe, the subsur-
face stratigraphy (Short 1962; McBeath 1976, 1977;
Pilaar & Wakefield 1978; Hill & Collen 1978;
Hogan 1979). Of these, Short (1962) gives the most
complete presentation.
This paper presents the results of a detailed study
of the pre-Miocene stratigraphy of Taranaki Basin
and revises the stratigraphic units. New names are
proposed for the Oligocene, Eocene, and Paleocene
Table 1 Summary of data available from type sections",
tv
0
Lithostratigraphic Type Interval Age Lithology Well logs 0
unit location (m BKB)t (reference) (reference) Samples over type section

Kaimiro Formation Inglewood-I 4633-5061 Dh or older Sandstone with occasional Ditchcutting Sonic;
(Mcintyre & interbeds of silty samples every Gamma ray-neutron;
Norris 1966; mudstone (Gerlings & van 3 m. Dipmeter (partial
Hayward et al. der Abeele 1964). coverage);
1982) Microlog;
Ornata Formation Inglewood-I 4616-4633 Dm-Dh (Mcintyre Dark brown sandy Ditchcutting Induction -
& Norris 1966; siltstone and mudstone samples every electrical;
Hayward et al. (Gerlings & van der 3 m. Spontaneous
1982) Abeele 1964). potential;
Mangahewa Formation Inglewood-I 3742-4616 Dp-Ar (Mcintyre Interbedded sandstone, Ditchcutting
& Norris 1966; siltstone, mudstone and samples every
Hayward et al. coal (Gerlings & van der 3 m.
1982) Abeele 1964). I conventional
core Z
(4510-4514.5 m). ""~
McKee Formation McKee-3A 2130-2220 Ar-Lwh (Hayward Sandstone with occasional Ditchcutting Dipmeter; Density
(AH)t & Mildenhall mudstone clasts and samples every - neutron; Dual ~
1980; Hayward interbedded calcareous 3 m. laterlog- S-:::l
1982) sandstone (Palmer & 6 conventional microresistivity; c,
Beardman 1983). cores Spontaneous .....
0
(2131-2223.5 m). potential gamma ~
ray; Induction; :3
Sonic e:-
o....,
Turi Formation Mangahewa-I 3472-3479 Lwh (Hogan 1979) Brown-grey to medium dark Ditchcutting Induction -
grey, slight1 y to samples every electrical; 0
noncalcareous, micaceous 3m. Spontaneous ""0
mudstone (van Rijen & van I conventional potential 0-
(JQ

der Abeele 1963). core '<

P>
(3472-3475 m). :::l
c,
Otaraoa Formation Mangahewa-I 3250-3472 Lwh-Lw Grey, very calcareous, Ditchcutting
(Matapo Sandstone (3464-3472) (Cope 1963) silty mudstone. Very samples every 0
Member) glauconitic basal 3 m. 0
""
'tl
sandstone (van Rijen & van ::r
'<
der Abeele 1963).
('i'
'"
Tikorangi Formation Mangahewa-I 3213-3250 Lw Blue-grey sandy limestone, Ditchcutting J"
(Cope 1963; calcareous sandstone and samples every
Mcintyre 1962) white crystalline 3 m. '0
00
limestone with calcareous ~Vl
mudstone (van Rijen & van <:
der Abeele 1963). ?-
tv
*Depository for material is New Zealand Geological Survey, Lower Hutt; tBKB = Metres below kelly bushing; *AH = Along hole below kelly bushing (McKee 00

3A is a deviated well).
Palmer-Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy, Taranaki Basin 201

EPOCH FORMATION LITHOLOGY LITHOLOGIC

nCOl"'lC'ITC' Volcanics and clastic sediments.
LEGEND
TANGAHOE FORMATION Silty mudstone

·.TEMATEAONGA FM. Sandy, silty mudstones interbedded with

l\
quar tz ose conglomerates, with occasional
o thin lignit. beds.
URENUI FORMATION
Silty mudstone with minor conqlcrnerute.
1~:~::ii~/21
•• 0 0

,,,,,~;;;t fORMATION Sandstone. ercnsionnllv crniltnceeus SANDSTONE

•• T

z:..
WI'T
W
LJ
••
••
~ MOHAKATINO GROUP
Silty mudstone
calcareous streaks.
with occasional
I~':: J SANDY LITHOLOGY

: : ~I
a
I~::
E ..
SILTSTONE
MOKAU GROUP

n J
Interbedded siltstone and mudston e.

• 001 T SILTY LITHOLOGY

·~:"1<:1 I MAHOENUI GROUP

....
Calcareous mudstone, siltstone

I• · • ·· .. :r=
and sandston.
[-_- -j ARGILLACEOUS

D
Predorninuntly lirnestone with a - - LITHOLOGY
TIKORANGI FORMATION bQ5Q.1 sandstone.

°1
~ It~~.J.~~~1
Calcareous siltstone DAd mudstone with

-
OTARAOA FORMATION basal glauconihc sandstone. IMatupo sst. rnbr.l -s- MUDSTONE

'-"
--'
a 1=;= =;=1 SHALE
TURI FORMATION Nonca(cQreous carbonaceous mudstone

I I:: '~'. .. :'l- I I r:TlINTERBEDDED

I• • ::::E:'\ • • • o.
/ MCKEE
FORMATION
~ SEQUENCE

§COAL

D
T·· l- c
.... Z in
w
--'
~ MANGAHEWA CARBONACEOUS
:; ~ FORMATION o,

g
::::>
a Int.rb.dd.d
.. 8::::> ~ 0::
'-"
si I tstone, interbedded
LIMESTONE
si l ty sandstone

.. \ ..:1'1 g,~
i FORMATIONI Z sandstone si Itstcne ,
and mudstone
T •. .-:::-: ::::>
::r. 0.0::. ~ c:
c,
«
silty
mudstone.
and coal
= I CALCAREOUS
..•• z:::::>
1

···l"':::::·~ § ~

Wi···)·····, G
" .&.

Cl."t:
« KAIMIRO
~ ::~::.:~:::: ~~
0
GLAUCONITIC
FORMATION
--' TI
~ EJMICA
'..~: .1-:':.... .:

Vl
[D
t : .:
•••••

......
..,
. G FORAMINIFERA

[
::::> '" ."
a
W
LJ
~ul UNCONFORMITY
i5 lnterbeddad sandstone , occasionally o DISCONFORMITY
W
0:: .·.·.·10. PAKAWAU GROUP ~~~~.lomerQtic, siltstone, mudstone and
LJ

UJ .0' •
I-
« ...... ".
--'
.; 0"10001 aT

Fig.2 Summary of the stratigraphy of the Cretaceous-Recent sedimentary sequence deposited in Taranaki Basin,
New Zealand.
 N
,
oN
~ I
.,z
~ ~ ~ « ~
NEW ZEALAND .,""'., ~ ., is ~~, i!
STAGES ~ ~ j ~ ~"1 I ~r;-' Z ~ 'I ~~=> ~ ~ CD I

g ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ L3 ~ ~~~ ~ ~ g ~
u u. Vl I-- :E L z; ::.:::: I- Z I- :l: I-
~ §Z ~~ ~~ ~ :E~::>

OTA'AN "., """'+ ","oJ"", I h- "J""

WAITAKIAN (L"I TAK1AKA I hYI----+------'
DUNTROONIAN (Ld) TIKORANGI

ABEL ABEL OTARAOA OTARAOA TIKORA NG'

I
WHAINGAROAN (L"hl HEAD HTEAD

I TURI F
RUNANGAN (Arl MOTUPIPI TURI MeW TU1RI
COAL MEASURES J NO DEPOSITION
MCKEE I I
KAIATAN (Akl MANGAHEWA MANGAHEWA ~
4286m I KAPUNI GROUP f----.,.....-.,..,J
BORTON IAN (Abl NO DEPOSITION '-- 1--..L.-r-r......' --'3900m
1I EQUIVALENT
~
3914m~4900m, OMATA TURI
KAPUNI OMA 4451 m
P RAN IAN IOn I ~
HtRETAUN iAN Oh, GROUP KAIMIRO L-44~09:S5;;;-m--i-_ _ --1__.., Q..
PAN Om J r-r- 5061m .....
o
WAIPAWAN 10"1
8a
KAPUNI GROUP
3684m EQUI VALENT o
...,
TEURIAN lOt) I ~
PAKAWAU '----.,J.-.~-r--__t---i
~
§
Q..
"AUMURIAN ,.., ' ' 1'"1,,;;;;;- "'']'' ~
2694m 2503m 3511m

, 0 BASEM(NT[l] rn-- BASEMENT Scale BASEMENT

.'[) 2'202m 1630m 2727m 3919m 3566m 20 0 20 40 60 80 100 12{) 140 160km 3546m 4539m
SA
t....
I ,I I I I I I I I I
\0
00
Y'
Fig.3 Comparison of pre-Miocene stratigraphy encountered in wells drilled in Taranaki Basin. The wells are positioned geographically from south
(left) to north. Distance between wells is to scale. The location of each well is shown on Fig. I. F denotes top McKee Formation faulted out. ~
N
00
Palmer-Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy, Taranaki Basin 203

rocks (Fig. 2). The units are defined by lithological 1959) with an outcrop of similar strata in North
changes determined from well data and their Taranaki (the Mangaotaki Formation of Glennie
respective log responses. Some of the lithostrati- (1956)). The Mangaotaki Formation consists of
graphic units are diachronous (Fig. 3) and relate Oligocene sandstone (including glauconitic and cal-
geographically to environments of deposition. In careous sandstone), siltstone, coal, mudstone, and
particular, I propose to elevate Kapuni Formation conglomerate found in the predominantly calcar-
to Kapuni Group, consisting of four formations. eous sandstone facies in North Taranaki. In com-
Application of the name Mahoenui Group as paring the Eocene-Paleocene Kapuni coal measures
defined by Glennie (1956) and Kear & Schofield with the type section of the Mangaotaki Forma-
(1959) necessitates erection of three additional stra-tion, Short (1962) noted a difference in lithology,
tigraphic units, the Tikorangi, Otaraoa, and Turi thickness, and age. He, therefore, proposed the
Formations, which were erroneously included in name Kapuni Coal Measure Formation, more
Mahoenui Group. A fully marine, lateral equiva- commonly referred to as the Kapuni Formation.
lent of the Kapuni Group is described for rocks In a study of the stratigraphy and sedimentology,
penetrated in offshore wells in the north and north- Hogan (1979) divided the Kapuni Formation into
west part of the basin (Fig. 3). four members, the boundaries of which were
defined from the Kapuni-l well, but which proved
to be impractical for correlation elsewhere in Tar-
PAKAWAU GROUP (Bishop 1971) anaki Basin.
The oldest sedimentary rocks known in Taranaki Different correlatable subdivisions within the
Basin belong to the Pakawau Group. This Creta- Kapuni Formation subsequently were recognised
ceous-Paleocene conglomerate, sandstone, and coal over much of the Taranaki Basin, and this paper
measure sequence, which crops out in the north- proposes that the Kapuni Formation be elevated
west of the South Island, was encountered in off- to group status. In descending order, the upper part
shore wells Cook-I, Fresne-l, North Tasman-I, of the Kapuni Group consists of the McKee and
Maui Field, Maui-4, and Tane-l (Fig. 3). Mangahewa Formations (defined below) and the
Field and seismic evidence indicate that depo- lower part consists of the Omata and Kaimiro For-
sition of Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary rocks mations (defined below). Type sections for these
was largely structurally controlled. The thickest formations are located in the eastern and central
sequences of these rocks occur in fault-angle Taranaki Graben, where the greatest density of well
depressions formed by tilted basement blocks. Some data is available. The units are correlated westward
wells have drilled more than 2000 m of Pakawau on the available well data.
Group rocks without reaching the base of the The top of the Kapuni Group is marked by a
sequence. major sedimentation change at the top of the
The Pakawau Group rests on an erosion surface McKee Formation boundary where the lithology
which truncates igneous and metamorphic base- changes from a sandstone to a massive silty mud-
ment rocks (Pilaar & Wakefield 1978). It also crops stone. The McKee Formation, consisting predom-
out in the northwest of the South Island, and the inantly of sandstone beds, has been encountered in
unit is widely distributed over the Western Plat- wells located in the eastern and central Taranaki
form and southern Taranaki Graben, but has not Graben. Immediately underlying this unit is a coal
yet been encountered in the central or northern part measure sequence, here formally named the Man-
of the graben. gahewa Formation.
In the south, both onshore and in the Fresne-l The distribution and lateral changes within the
and Cook-l offshore wells, Pakawau Group con- lower part of the Kapuni Group are not as well
sists of a basal conglomeratic coarse sandstone known as those of the upper part of the Kapuni
overlain by alternating sandstone, mudstone, and Group. A sequence of marine siltstone and mud-
coal. Northwards the sequence is more uniform, stone encountered onshore (in Inglewood-l and
consisting of fine- to coarse-grained sandstones with Kaimiro-l wells and probably in the Kapuni-2 and
thin beds of mudstone and coal. New Plymouth-2 wells)is here formally named the
Omata Formation, and an older sandstone-mud-
stone sequence, the lowermost known unit of the
KAPUNI GROUP (new name) Kapuni Group, is here formally named the Kai-
Kapuni Formation is a convenient name which has miro Formation.
been applied to coal measures of Paleocene-Early Kapuni Group rocks occur across the Taranaki
Oligocene age encountered in wells drilled in Tar- Basin. The majority of onshore wells drilled the
anaki Basin. These rocks were first encountered in upper part of the Kapuni Group, and several wells
Kapuni-l and were correlated (van der Klugt et al. drilled the lower part of the group, but none of
204 New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1985, Vol. 28

Fig. 4 Stratigraphic
173" 00' E 17400 ' E columns showing the
thickness and distribu-
tion of pre-Miocene
A
~~ A

MB
~O-'~B
1000..
1M
I
, sequence in Taranaki
;[ Basin. Total depths
:;t
~.~. I ur i - 1/ -!r are shown in metres
:t below kelly bushing
!:!
..- -
l-1 00 0 ", (m BKB).
'"~
~ 10 20 30 LO SOk m
T 0 35 L6 ..

HORIZONTAL SCALE

B-i _
3(
00 S
\
t'4.::1
rone - 1 , 39'
oO'S
~B
New Plymouth -2 Mongohewo:'1

T O l.5 39m

Ul v -.

c ;?,;
0' TLO 397Lm
-i,K1,WO-'
. . . .. , "~
K~~e~1
- .. -
LO' ~~ . :-:: .:,~
OO'S
T O 3858 .. .. : . U

I
TO 3~ 82 m
Formotlon ~g~

I.: :. : J MAHO~N UI 1< _» >1MCKE E 1:::·:.;.:·::::3 ABEL HEAD

~ CII MANGA~EWA 0· KAPUNI GROUP

o
TlKORAN(j1
.. EOUIVA l ENT
OTARADA t) :-J O"'ATA CD PAKAWAU

10 3919 m
F:=:j TURI ELl KA I MI RO IJ!nJ] BASEMEN
f f AULl
17)' 00' E ~ KA PUN I GROUP 174 00' E
U UNCONf ORM ITY

A: 0'
Tur i - , Mongohewo -1 Ko punl-1 Kupe- '
Ma hoenUI
Mohoenui

Oto rooo

HCKee
KAP UNI
Ka pUni r.r .,up Equivot en t Mo ngahtw o
GROUP
Palmer-Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy, Taranaki Basin 205

A A
Moa-1B Turi-1
OTAIAN pn Mahoenui
LATE WAITAKIAN LLw
EARLY WAITAKIAN e Lw
DUNTROONIAN Ld Tikorangi
WHAINGAROAN Lwh
RUNANGAN Ar

~
Turi
KAIATAN Ak
BORTON IAN Ab
PORANGAN - HERETAUNGAN Do- Dh
MANGAORAPAN - WAIPAWAN Om-Dw Kapuni Group Equivalent
TEURIAN DI
HAUMURIAN Mh ? ?
Rn~pinpn .

B B'
Tane-l New Plymouth-Z Mangahewa-l
Po Mahoenui
LLw
e Lw Tikorangi
Ld Olarao a
Lwh
Ar

~
MCKee
Ak Mangahewa
Ab .... -'--_Omatci
Do-Dh
Dm-Dw
Dt
Mh

c Toko-l
c'
Kiwa-l Maui -2 Kapuni-2
Po
ITw
eLw Otaraoa Tikorangi
Ld Til<orangi
Lwh
Ar
Ai<
Ab
DP-Dh KAPUNI
Dm-Dw GROUP Kaimiro
Dt
Mh Pakawau
Busernent

o Maui-4 Kupe-l
0'

Oloraoa
Abel Head

KAPUNI

--
No Deposition. ~
GROUP
Fig. 5 (above, and bottom opposite page) West-east and Pakawau
north-south cross sections of pre-Miocene sequence in
Taranaki Basin. The horizontal scale is shown in Fig. 4. Basement
206 New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1985, Vol. 28
these wells have penetrated the base of the group.
On some seismic records in the graben, acoustic
basement reflectors occur at about 4 s two-way-time
(TWT) which represents some 7000 m of sedi-
mentary section. Several offshore wells have drilled
through the Kapuni Group into the underlying
sequence, which is correlated with the Pakawau
Group of northwest Nelson.
Jonkers et al. (1969) recognised Kapuni Group
rocks in the Maui-I well. Later, several correlatable
horizons were identified in the Maui Field and these
were given informal names (Jonkers et al. 1970;
McBeath 1977): the CI to C3 sands and C2 and
C3 shales correlate with the upper part of the
Kapuni Group; the 01 shale correlates with the
Ornata Formation.
Distribution of Kapuni Group rocks (Fig. 3) is
more regular than that of the older Pakawau Group.
Their deposition was predominantly structurally
controlled. The sequence is thickest in the central
Taranaki Graben and becomes thinner southwards
and westwards (Fig. 4, 5). The thickness, lateral
continuity, and nature of the sediments comprising
the Kapuni Group suggest that during Paleocene
and Eocene times large areas ofthe basin were sub-
siding contemporaneously with deposition.
KAIMIRO FORMAnON (new)
Kaimiro Formation, named after the North Tar-
anaki township of Kaimiro, is the lowermost
recognised formation of the Kapuni Group. It con-
.sists predominantly of sandstone with interbedded
siltstone and mudstone.
The interval from 4633 m to 5061 m BKB (total
depth) in Inglewood-1 is designated the type sec-
tion (Fig. 6). Here the formation consists of 428 m
of light grey to grey, fine- to occasionally coarse-
or very coarse-grained, poorly to moderately sorted,
generally hard, in part argillaceous, in part calcar-
eous sandstone with interbeds of dark blackish
brown, silty, sandy, micaceous, in part carbona-
ceous mudstone (Gerlings & van der Abeele 1964).
The sequence is unfossiliferous. However, ages
established for the overlying Ornata Formation
(defined below) indicate a Heretaungan or older age
for the Kaimiro Formation (Mcintyre & Norris
1966; Hayward et al. 1982).
The upper contact of the formation is conform-
able with the overlying Ornata Formation. Onshore
Inglewood-I, Kaimiro-I, and possibly Kapuni-2
reach the Kaimiro Formation, but they terminate
in it, and the nature of the basal contact and of the
underlying sequence therefore is unknown. Off-
shore, the lower part of the Kapuni Group has been
penetrated (e.g., in Maui-4) and it conformably
overlies the Pakawau Group. In the Maui Field,
the oldest producing sequence is sandstones within
the Kaimiro Formation in the lower part of the
Kapuni Group. To date, this is the only location
where hydrocarbons are being produced from the
lower part of the Kapuni Group.
OMAT A FORMA nON (new)
Ornata Formation, named after the North Taran-
aki township, consists of mudstone and siltstone,
considered to be marine, and overlies the Kaimiro
Formation.
The interval from 4616 m to 4633 m BKB in
Inglewood-1 is designated type section (Fig. 6). It
consists of 17 m of dark brown, sandy, slightly cal-
careous, slightly carbonaceous, in part glauconitic,
silty, sandy, fossiliferous mudstone (Gerlings & van
der Abeele 1964). Foraminifera, palynoflora, and
microplankton from 4633 m indicate a Mangaor-
apan-Heretaungan age (Mcintyre & Norris 1966;
Hayward et al. 1982).
The lower boundary of Ornata Formation is con-
formable with the Kaimiro Formation. The upper
boundary is conformable with the Mangahewa
Formation. Few wells have drilled the Ornata For-
mation and its distribution is therefore poorly
known (Fig. 4, 5). The Heretaungan-Bortonian
mudstone penetrated in the Maui Field (informally
called the D1 shale) (Jonkers et al. 1969) is similar
in age and lithology and is here correlated with the
Ornata Formation. This mudstone is the cap rock
of the lower part of the Kapuni Group reservoir in
the Maui Field. In Kapuni-2, the mudstone from
3932 m to 3941 m is tentatively identified as Ornata
Formation, and the New Plymouth-2 well termi-
nated in the Ornata Formation. These correlations
are based on faunal and lithological comparisons.
MANGAHEWA FORMAnON (new)
Mangahewa Formation, named after the Manga-
hewa-1 well, consists of a thick sequence of
interbedded sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, and
coal. This, the lowermost formation. of the upper
part of the Kapuni Group, occurs wiffely across the
basin and is one of the primary exploration targets
in the basin.
The interval from 3742 m to 4616 m BKB in
Inglewood-1 is designated the type section (Fig. 6).
Here, Mangahewa Formation consists of 874 m of
interbedded fine- to occasionally coarse-grained,
white to light brown to light grey to grey, poorly
to moderately well sorted, angular to subrounded,
quartzose, in part calcareous, in part friable, occa-
sionally glauconitic sandstone with fine argilla-
ceous and carbonaceous laminae; occasional dark
brown, sandy, micaceous siltstone; light bluish grey
Palmer-Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy, Taranaki Basin 207

Fig.6 Type section of Kaimiro CO-ORDI NATES' N.I NATIONAL YARD GRID LOCATION M~
Formation, thc interval from 4633 373264 YOS N N." Pl ymout ~
m to 5061 m BKB in Inglewood- INGLEWOOD -1 17 6 S3 1 YOS E .
I ; Ornata Formation, the interval HEV. Gl 3 10 m A.S L. R K.B. 31 6 m A5L . 1NG C : '
between 4616 m and 4633 m BKB TOTAL DEPTH 506 1 m SPUD DATE 14·1· 63 1 0 . REACHEO 3 3·63
in Inglewood-I : and Mangahcwa
Formation, th e interval between DEPTH
AG ~ FORMATION LITHOLOGY
Im l
3742 m and 4616 m BKB in
Inglewood-L 3700
r--
~ . /:\w "v.;.
/ 314 1- 4616", MANGAHEWA FORMATION
H<KEE
A seq ve oce of CQr bo l'\Qe~u~ mud~tOf'lt·5
3800
H: KC:' ~ ol'\d cool eees ln tt"rco lott"d ..... Ith slig htly
cc ree reeus siltst ones a nd sand ston es .
3900 I I Cool beds Off up to 'Om th ick Of\d
consis t of high Yolat ile bituminou, ( 0'11.
4000 Ak-Ar ~I ,

4100
::;:;::::1 .1~ 46 16 - ~ 6 33 m OMAlA fORMA TION

r:"'"' ,,, ,
MANGAHEWA
420l>- . Ir I Dar k bro wn mu dston e that i s In part
si lt y or sondy . mirac lP ous , sli ghtly
4300 I .: ..1. ca lcar eous Qnd CQrbonouou s : contai ns

4400
- J__ 'J globular glaucon ite Qnd f or a minife ra

4500 Ab-Ak
:::.- ~. ~ .: .:" :-::-: ro,
1 .:';::.-:::".:::::::.:'; li ght g re y fa qrey . 'In e to eeer s e
4600 ~ gra ined, poorl) sor red sandsron e wi rh

IIItm(~~:""7~-
I n ter beds of dark blac kISh bro wn,
4700 silty mu dst one

L800
KA I MIRO

H
I :\?
Ow-Oh
4900

SOOO ?i~:{)~
Toio l O.pth 5061",
5100

to brownish grey to dark brown carbonaceous
mudstone that is often silty or sandy and occa-
sionally calcareous; and black, bituminous coal
seams from a few centimetres to 10 m thick (Ger-
lings & van der Abeele 1964).
Two palynofloral samples, taken in the interval
from 4368 m to 4538 m in Inglewood-l , have been
analysed (Mcintyre & Norris 1966; Hayward et al.
1982). The species present and their relative abun-
dances suggest a Bortonian-Kaiatan (Middle-Late
Eocene) age (Mcintyre & Norris 1966).
At its type section, Mangahewa Formation con-
formably overlies Ornata Formation , with the lower
boundary being the top of the marine mudstone.
The formation is conformably overlain by the
McKee Formation, the upper boundary being the
top of the uppermost coal measure cyclothem
encountered.
Mangahewa Formation has been penetrated by
exploration and production wells in Taranaki Basin.
It is thickest in the eastern part of the graben and
thins to the south and west (Fig. 4, 5). The sedi-
ments deposited in the eastern part of the basin are
typically coal measure with siltstone and mudstone
and minor sandstone. Less coal was deposited in
the west, and some sandstone beds are well
developed to the west. Good reservoir sandstones
are present in the Maui Field. However, rapid facies
changes make it unlikely that the good reservoir
properties present at Maui will be continuous over
large distances. In onshore Taranaki, individual
sandstone units within the coal measures cannot be
satisfactorily correlated more than several
kilometres .
McKEE FORMATION (new)
McKee Formation, named after the McKee-I well,
is the uppermost formation of the Kapuni Group.
The interval from 2130 m to 2220 m along hole
(AH) in McKee-3A is designated the type' section
(Fig. 7). Here, McKee Formation consists of 90 m
of white to very light grey to medium light grey,
fine- to coarse-grained, moderately well sorted, firm
to friable, quartzose sandstone with occasional
clasts of dark brown, fissile mudstone (especially
in the upper 20 m), fragments of black, brittle coal
with subconchoidal fracture, and interbeds of milky-
white, calcareous cemented sandstone (Palmer &
Beardman 1983). No satisfactory age determina-
tions have been obtained for the unit because of
its sandy nature. However, a Runangan-early
208 New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1985, Vol. 28

COORDINATE S: LATITUDE 39 0 05' 45" S

New Pl y mou t h
McKEE-3A LON GITUDE 174 0 19' 59" E

ELEV GL. 150m A.SL. R.K B. 160m A.SL .

TOTAL DEPTH 2250 m SPUD DATE 18 - 11 - 81 TO. REACH ED 14-12 -81
LOCATION MAP
NEUTRON DENSIT Y %
30 LI MESTONE MATRIX 0
GAMMA RAY DEPTH 1- - - - - - - T - - - - - - -
AGE FORMATI ON ap i umt s DE SCR IP TIO N
I ml BULK DENSITY g/ cm '
20 50 100 2 20 2 '45 2' 10

-.
2100 . ~ :~
py..,. "'!i '

OTARAOA .. ....: ..
'"-:

:Mat;p-;- ~' :' : :~ , :. :

• ••• ' , ;:Z;: .
I Ss t mbr .
1- .,.. . .':...' .""
1125
TURI p'l 2123 - 2130m TURI FORMA TION
.. . . I}I- 2130 - 2120 m McKEE FORMATION
Whit e ro ver y light gr ey to medi um tig ht gr ey .
f ine t o coarse grained . f r ia ble to f i rm ,
moder a te ly 'W elt so r ted . qua r tzo se s a nd s to nr .
Conta i n s sca tte r ed coal f r agmen ts a nd da rlc.
brown m udsto ne cla sts .
OccQsiona l In ter beds of mi lk y . Wh i te cal car eous
~ s c n d s t e ne , m ed ium to da r k bro w n . c ar b e ne c ee u s .
2150 f iss il e m uds t one . a nd bla ck br it t le coal wit h
sun - conchoidal f raou t e .

Lw h
-_-: -:-~
.... .

"; " ." . ". ' - ..

1175
Mc KEE
I~;:~ ·; ::
.;.:": ~ :.:
. .- '

2200

MANGAHEWA
2225

Fig. 7 Type section of McKee Formation, the interval from 2130 m to 2220 m along hole BKB in McKee-3A.
McKee-3A was a directionally drilled deviated well, hence the along hole depths.

Whaingaroan age is inferred from its stratigraphic is conformable with the overlying massive mud-
position (Hayward & Mildenhall 1980; Hayward stones of the Turi Formation.
1982). McKee Formation, distinguished by its predom-
At the type section, the lower boundary is the inantly sandy lithology, is widely distributed over
base of the sandstone unit which conformably Taranaki Basin (Fig. 4, 5) and comprises the res-
overlies the uppermost coal measure cyclothem of ervoir beds of the McKee Field. McKee Formation
the Mangahewa Formation. The upper boundary is an inner shelf-coastal sediment.
Palmer-Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy, Taranaki Basin
Marine equivalent of the Kapuni Group
Several offshore wells have encountered a sequence
of marine siltstone and mudstone that is a laterally
equivalent facies to the Kapuni Group. Beddoes &
Watson (1969) described the Eocene-Paleocene
marine siltstone and mudstone sequence in Moa-
IB. Subsequent wells have encountered a similar
sequence and these beds were called the Kapuni
Formation Equivalent (Hematite and Shell BP and
Todd Oil Services Ltd 1975; Shell BP and Todd
Oil Services Ltd 1977). In Tane-I, this interval was
divided into three distinct units. In descending
order they are Tane Siltstone Member, Kaiata For-
mation, and Island Sandstone (Shell BP and Todd
Oil Services Ltd 1977). The subdivision was infor-
mal and does not correlate directly with other off-
shore wells. Island Sandstone is a brown, calcareous
sandstone from the Greymouth region of the West-
land Basin (Nathan 1974). Island Sandstone does
not occur beyond the Greymouth area of the South
Island (Nathan 1974); it is impractical to apply the
name to a localised occurrence of a similar unit at
Tane-l, some 400 km NNE of Greymouth.
Few wells have encountered the marine rocks
(Fig. 2, 3) laterally equivalent to the Kapuni Group.
The real extent of these is poorly known, but indi-
cations are that they are thickest and most wide-
spread in the north and northwest of the basin (Fig.
4, 5). The division into three units (by Shell BP
and Todd Oil Services Ltd) has not been adopted
here. Further information is needed before subdi-
vision should be attempted. Hence the name
Kapuni Group Equivalent is used.
TURI FORMAnON (new)
Turi Formation is a marine mudstone named after
the Turi-l well drilled offshore in North Taranaki.
Jonkers et al. (1969) described a distinctive, dark
brown, massive mudstone in the Maui-l well. This
unit was given the informal name Cl shale by Shell
BP and Todd Oil Services Ltd and later became
known as the Kaiata Formation (Pilaar & Wake-
field 1978). The term Kaiata Formation or Kaiata
Mudstone is widely used in the Westland and Buller
areas of the South Island (Nathan 1974). Kaiata
Formation is the name applied to all dark brown,
micaceous, muddy sediments between the under-
lying Island Sandstone or Brunner Coal Measures
(where the Island Sandstone is missing) and the
overlying Cobden Limestone or its correlatives (Fig.
8) (Nathan 1974). Kaiata Formation is not found
in the Nelson area or the northwest of the South
Island, making it impractical to apply the name to
a possible correlative in Taranaki Basin, some 300-
400 km to the northwest of its type area, Westland.
The marine mudstone encountered in Taranaki
209
Basin that has become known as the Kaiata For-
mation is defined here as the Turi Formation.
The interval from 3472 m to 3479 m in Man-
gahewa-l (Fig. 9) is designated the type section.
Here, Turi Formation consists of 7 m of massive,
brown grey to medium dark grey, slightly to non
calcareous, in part carbonaceous, micaceous mud-
stone (van Rijen & van der Abeele 1963). Logs
exhibit a low resistivity response (Fig. 9) and a high
gamma ray response (Fig. 7) across the Turi For-
mation in central and eastern Taranaki in particu-
lar. The high gamma ray response is due to
carbonaceous material and mica concentrated in
the fine-grained sediment. In offshore wells, the
gamma ray response is not as high, probably
because organic material and mica were not depos-
ited in such concentrations in the deeper water
environment. A core recovered from the Turi For-
mation at Mangahewa-l contains Whaingaroan
foraminifera, and fragments of bryozoans and gas-
tropods are present at 3472 m (Hogan 1979).
In the Mangahewa-l well, the lower boundary of
Turi Formation is conformable with sandstone of
the McKee Formation. The top of the unit is con-
formable with the Matapo Sandstone Member of
the overlying Otaraoa Formation.
Turi Formation, an inner-middle shelf mud-
stone in onshore wells and a middle-outer shelf
deposit in offshore wells, is present over much of
the Taranaki Graben and on the Western Platform
(Fig. 4, 5). It is a lateral time equivalent of the
Whaingaroa Siltstone of Waitomo County to the
northeast. The two units are, however, lithologi-
cally different and geographically isolated.
OT ARAOA FORMATION (new)
Otaraoa Formation, named after Otaraoa Road in
northeast Taranaki, consists of a sequence of cal-
careous siltstone and mudstone first described by
van Rijen & van der Abeele (1963) in Mangahewa-
1. The sequence was encountered in later wells and
was named the Lower Mahoenui Formation by
Adams et al. (1980). The Mahoenui Group was
defined from outcrop as "all those calcareous mud-
stones, sandstones, siltstones and limestones ...
above the Te Kuiti Limestone or its lateral equiv-
alent and older than the unconformity or discon-
formity found at the base of the Mokau Formation"
(Glennie 1956; Kear & Schofield 1959). This paper
recognises that Tikorangi Formation, defined here,
is a correlative ofTe Kuiti Limestone and is there-
fore overlain by Mahoenui Group. It is further pro-
posed that a new name, Otaraoa Formation, be
given to the sediments named Lower Mahoenui
Formation by Adams et al. (1980).
 WAITOHO TARANAKI NW NELSON WESTLAND N
NEW ZEALAND STAGES .....
COUNTY BASIN OUTCROP BASIN o
after, Nelson 1978 (This Paper) after Bishop 1971 after Nathan 1974
.......... I
OTAIAN IPo) MAHOENUI ::.... .. .. MAHDENUI KAIPUKE BLUE BOTTOM
FORMATION .. :: .. :: ...... FORMATION Po
SILTSTONE GROUP
TlKORANGI
r----
WAITAKIAN !L",) q~~~~~~~A TAKAKA Lw
FORMATION LI MESTONE COBDEN
r--
DUNTROONIANILd) LIMESTONE
Ld
SST r--
ABEL a...
HEAD :::::>
WHAINGAROAN FORMATION ~
WHAINGAROAN IL",h) l:J
SILTSTONE
Lwh
KAlATA
FORMATION r----
RUNANGAN IAr) Ar
r--
WAIKATO MOTUPIPI ISLAND
KAIATAN IAk) COAL COAL SANDSTONE Ak
•• •• .."'T"" ~z
•••••.•••••••.. LLJO MEASURES
MEASURES
BRUNNER r--
BORTONIAN lAb) COAL Ab
MEASURES
PORANGAN to» rop-
IT'" r--
HERETAUNGAN IOh) Dh
r----
MANGAORAPAN 10m)
~;.·..i~:
:::::::::'.:-':::::::::::::::-:".
z··: .......... ::.:.. z
Om
WAIPAWAN lOw) r-o;-
NO r----
i5:f. .. :: .. :.... ~
L
« .......... I IIII PAPAROA
• X:..

.. ..
-r-

..
~
u,

a COAL
TEURIAN IOf) -r- • • • • . . • . • . !:!:
•• •• -. ::E: Dt
.. .. -. .. .... « MEASURES
................ ::.:::

~;:i'L:~~--------
:: .. ::-. :: .. :: T ~ g, PAKAWAU
~;.::.:-:.:-:-:.>:-:-:.>:. ~~ GROUP
Mh
:~:::: ::>.~::;::::::~:
.. . :. : ~t.:I
.....
HAUMURIAN IHh) \0
0···0 •. • .. 00
~~..,.:...? .....:"..:.',"~:' .t .VI

BASEMENT BASEMENT BASEMENT

~
N
00
Fig. 8 Correlation of stratigraphic sequences in western New Zealand.
 Palmer-Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy, Taranaki Basin 211

Fig. 9 Type section of Turi For- N.Z. MAP GRID LOCATION MAP
mation, the interval from 3472 m COORDINATES 2623700 m E
to 3479 m BKB in Mangahewa-I; MANGAHEWA-1 6236750 m N MANGAHEWA-' J
Otaraoa Formation, the interval I I ElEV. Gl 173 m A S1 .R.K.B 178 m ASl. New PlymOUlh( ~
between 3250 m and 3472 m BKB
TOTAL DEPTH 4286m SPUD DATE, 1-12-60 TO REACHED 2-10-61
in Mangahewa-I; and Tikorangi
Formation, the interval from 3213 AGE I FORMATION I ~E~1H RESISTIVITY lOG
(Ohms m'tml
11iTHOlDli'/ DESCRIPTION
m to 3250 m BKB in Manga-
hewa-I.

Po I MAHOENUI

3200

3213-3250m T1KORANGI FORMATION

Blue- grey sandy Limestone. calcareous
sandstone and white crystalline
TlKORANGI
limestone interbedded with culcureous
mudstone
I I 3250 f.- =-
3250- 3472m OTARAOA FORMATION
Grey, very calcareous, silty mudstone.
£~-=

3300
~

33S0
lw I OTARAOA

%-.::1:

3400

3450
:>:-
.,=.. - ..
= 3464 - 3472 m Mntapo Sandstone Member
White,medium to coarse grained .sub-
angular, very glauconitrc, rulcureous
MQiciDosstm. ~.~/.~ sandstone in part.

- =- 3472- 3479m TURI FORMATION

~ •• ::::E:::
TURI
~<.:-~ Brown - grey to medium dark grey.
slightly to rencctccreocs, in part
lwh I McKEE
:-:-:-:.~ rurbonnceous, micaceous
3500
~-:-:-:-:

The interval from 3250 m to 3472 m BKB in
Mangahewa-I is designated the type section for the
Otaraoa Formation (Fig. 9). It consists of 214 m
of grey, very calcareous, silty mudstone (van Rijen
& van der Abeele 1963). It is conformably under-
lain by 8 m of very glauconitic sandstone. At its
top, the formation is conformably overlain by
limestone of the Tikorangi Formation. Microfauna
from cuttings in Mangahewa-I give a Waitakian-
late Whaingaroan age for the formation (Cope
1963).
One subdivision, the Matapo Sandstone Mem-
ber, is recognised at the base of the Otaraoa For-
mation. Its type section is Mangahewa-I well,
between 3464 m and 3472 m, where it consists of
light greenish grey, medium- to coarse-grained, very
glauconitic, in part calcareous, quartzose sandstone
(van Rijen & van der Abeele 1963). The base is
conformable with the underlying Turi Formation.
Otaraoa Formation is restricted to the Taranaki
Graben (Fig. 4, 5). In the north, it overlies the Turi
Formation. To the west, on the Western Platform,
Turi Formation is its time equivalent. It is lithol-
ogically similar to, and the time equivalent of, the
Abel Head Formation of the South Taranaki Gra-
ben and its onshore extension in the northwest of
the South Island (Pilaar & Wakefield 1978). The
two units are, however, geographically isolated.
Matapo Sandstone Member is known only from
wells drilled onshore and is thickest in central and
northeast onshore Taranaki. This member is a
valuable marker horizon. It is a lateral equivalent

Sig.2
 tv
tv
-

z
0
~
N
0
III
;-
::s
0.-
.....
0
I::
::I
IU e:.
0
....,
~
a
0
0
5"
OQ
'<
III
::s
0.-
a
0
. • : OUTER":SHELF.·:: 0
'0
................. ;:r
. . . ,. •....................
•... •. + ..••... '<
..................
.................... .. . (S,
'"
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••;+-• ••• JI'
............ '.D
+ 00
+
-
.VI

sHE :.' -<

. LF + ~
tv
Fig.l0 Paleogeographic reconstruction of Taranaki Basin from Late Cretaceous to Early Miocene times, 00
~ BORTON IA PORANGAN .
~
NO HERETAUNGAN ;.?
. (MI DDLE EOCENE I
li ,lt/I" OEPOSlTIOt:l .
:.+.
........ (MIOOLE EOCENE ) 3"o
T
"'tl
@
S:
~.
::l
o
.
..._
::r
o
...'"Pl
~.
'0
9"
-l
'"Pl::l
II '"~
t:C
e;
S'

+ INNER
SHELF

,.,

..1
N
Fig. 10 (continued) '-'
214 New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1985, Vol. 28
of, but lithologically different and geographically
isolated from, the Aotea Sandstone of Waitomo
County to the northeast (Nelson 1978).
The Turi and Otaraoa Formations mark the
beginning of a major marine transgression in cen-
tral Taranaki Basin. Marine conditions existed in
the north and west of Taranaki Basin during Late
Cretaceous-Paleocene times and reached central
Taranaki by the Late Eocene-Oligocene.
TIKORANGI FORMATION (new)
Tikorangi Formation is a deep-water, bioclastic
limestone named after the North Taranaki town-
ship of Tikorangi. It was first encountered in the
Mangahewa-l well. Van Rijen & van der Abeele
(1963) described a limestone within the Mahoenui
"Formation" in Mangahewa-l. A similar sequence
has been encountered in subsequent wells in the
area. The names Tikorangi Member (van Rijen &
van der Abeele 1963) and Tikorangi Limestone
(Pilaar & Wakefield 1978) have been applied infor-
mally to the limestone. Van Rijen & van der Abeele
(1963) recognised the correlation between Tiko-
rangi Limestone and Te Kuiti Limestone but con-
sidered the Tikorangi Limestone was a member of
the Mahoenui "Formation". Later, the informal
subdivision of Upper Mahoenui Formation, for the
beds overlying the limestone, and Lower Mahoenui
Formation, for those beneath, was adopted (Adams
et al. 1980). This paper proposes the name Tiko-
rangi Formation for the limestone, with Mahoenui
Group restricted to the sequence overlying (as
defined by Glennie (1956) and Kear & Schofield
(1959», and Otaraoa Formation applied to the silty
mudstone immediately underlying, the Tikorangi
Formation.
The interval from 3213 m to 3250 m BKB in
Mangahewa-l is designated the type section (Fig.
9). Here, Tikorangi Formation consists of 37 m of
blue-grey, sandy limestone, calcareous sandstone,
and white crystalline limestone interbedded with
calcareous mudstone (van Rijen & van der Abeele
1963). The microfauna in cuttings samples from
Mangahewa-l indicate a Waitakian age (McIntyre
1962; Cope 1963).
At the type section, Tikorangi Formation is con-
formable on the calcareous siltstone and mudstone
of the underlying Otaraoa Formation. The upper
boundary is conformable with the calcareous mud-
stone of the overlying Mahoenui Group.
Tikorangi Formation is a bioclastic, deep-water
deposit that is widespread on the Western Platform
and in the north and east of the Taranaki Graben
(Fig. 4, 5). A lateral equivalent, the Takaka Lime-
stone, is present in the South Taranaki Basin and
northwest of the South Island. The Takaka Lime-
stone is an inner-middle shelf deposit (Leask 1980).
Further north, the Takaka Limestone grades to a
deep-water calcareous mudstone which geograph-
ically isolates it from the Tikorangi Formation (Fig.
8).
PALEOGEOGRAPHY FROM CRETACEOUS
TO EARLY MIOCENE
During the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene, large
areas of Taranaki Basin lay above or very near sea
level (Fig. 10). The sediments deposited were pre-
dominantly coal measures and coastal plain depos-
its. The oldest sediments, the Cretaceous Pakawau
Group coal measures, are sporadically distributed
across the basin (Fig. 3). The predominantly ter-
restrial sediments were deposited in fault-angle
depressions formed by normal faulting of base-
ment (Pilaar & Wakefield 1978).These and the Late
Cretaceous-Early Oligocene coal measure sequences
are the primary exploration objectives in the Tar-
anaki Basin.
The Kapuni Group is a Paleocene-Oligocene
sequence comprised of a lower sandstone-mud-
stone sequence, the Kaimiro Formation (Dh or
older); overlain by a marine mudstone, the Omata
Formation (Dm-Dh). The coal measure sequence,
the Mangahewa Formation (Dp-Ak), is overlain by
an estuarine to shallow marine sandstone sequence,
the McKee Formation (Ar-Lwh). In the eastern
Taranaki Basin, the sediments are lagoonal-flood-
plain-coastal deposits, whereas westwards, the
sediments exhibit more marine influences. The
Oligocene Turi (Lwh) and Otaraoa (Lwh-Lw) For-
mations and the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene
Tikorangi (Lw-Po) Formation were deposited in a
marine environment.
Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Taranaki
Basin (Fig. 10) shows a major pre-Miocene marine
transgression. This transgression commenced in
Late Cretaceous-Paleocene times and progressed
through to the Miocene. Drilling and regional
seismic data indicate that, during the Late Creta-
ceous and Paleocene, the Taranaki Basin was an
area oflow relief with a gentle, generally westward,
slope. At the beginning of the Eocene, the sea began
to encroach southeastward onto this landmass (Fig.
10). Shallow marine sediments were deposited in
close association with terrestrial sediments. The sea
continued to transgress during the Eocene and Oli-
gocene, and by Early Miocene time, the basin lay
beneath a sea of bathyal depth (Fig. 1'0).
The stratigraphic correlation of the sequences
along the west coast of New Zealand (Fig. 8) shows
close similarities between the sequence of the Tar-
anaki Basin, the Waitomo County to the northeast
(Nelson 1978),and the Westland Basin to the south
Palmer-Pre-Miocene lithostratigraphy, Taranaki Basin
(Nathan 1974). During Late Cretaceous-Miocene
times, similar conditions prevailed along the length
of the western margin of New Zealand.
The Cretaceous-Early Miocene stratigraphic
sequence described for Taranaki Basin (Fig. 2, 3)
is a regressive-transgressive sequence.
The environments of deposition of the strati-
graphic units range from bathyal to outer shelf,
through shallow marine, to lagoonal or terrestrial.
Interfingering marine and non- to marginal marine
sediments indicate a fluctuating but generally
transgressive shoreline that progressed from the
northwest to the southeast.
Local variations in the sequence were controlled
by the paleorelief, relative tectonic movements
between the source and depositional areas, prox-
imity to the coast and the source rocks, and the
nature of the source rocks. Because of all these
factors, rapid facies changes occur both locally and
regionally, and different formations are laterally
equivalent.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author thanks Dr T. Haskell and fellow staff of Petro-
corp (Exploration), Mr D. Haw of BP Exploration, and
Mr G. Pearce of Shell BP and Todd Oil Services Ltd for
their useful comments. Special thanks also to Mr D. Pim-
blott and the drafting section of Petrocorp (Exploration)
for their assistance in preparing the diagrams.
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