Exxon Mobil Scraps New Zealand Project

Exxon Mobil

, the largest U.S. oil company, said it will not move forward with an oil exploration project in in the Great South Basin off the Southland coast of New Zealand due to technical difficulties and a harsh operating environment. Exxon had won approval to explore the area in 2007 and had spent the past three years with partner Todd Energy gathering seismic data on the area. The companies had struggled in attracting additional partners to their joint venture and that may be another reason the project is being scrapped. There are two other oil producers operating in the Great South Basin, according to New Zealand press reports.