New Zealand has opened up an area for oil and gas exploration covering almost double its own landmass as it looks to exploit previously untapped resources around the islands.
Some 156,000 square miles, made up of three onshore and five offshore blocks, are to be opened up in a new licencing round by the country.
The move could become a hot topic this autumn, with bids for the blocks due to be submitted just five days after New Zealand’s general election on September 20th.
But the country’s energy minister Simon Bridges said the opportunity to secure a major oil or gas find off the country’s coast must be taken.
“Oil is our fourth-largest export, with a value of around NZ$1.8 billion (£962million) in 2012, but we have barely scratched the surface of our potential,” Bridges said.
The New Zealand government is banking on at least one more of the 18 basins around the country entering significant production, a move Bridges described as ‘an economic game-changer’
The new areas open for exploration affect both the North and South Islands. The onshore release areas are in the East Coast Basin, Taranaki Basin and West Coast Basin, and the five offshore areas are in the Reinga-Northland Basin, Taranaki Basin, New Caledonia Basin, Pegasus-East Coast Basin and Great South-Canterbury Basin.
New Zealand’s Petroleum Exploration and Production Association welcomed the move, saying that while production would be at least seven years away from a successfull find, the knock-on benefits from exploration would be felt throughout the country.
“The blocks offer process has been hugely successful at bringing world-class operators and investment to our shores,” chief executive David Robinson said.
“We only welcome quality operators to New Zealand. It is very important to the industry that New Zealand’s pristine environment is safeguarded.”
Greenpeace chief policy adviser Nathan Argent said New Zealand’s government is ignoring the threat of global warming by opening up new areas to drill and mine.
“They’re also turning their backs on the huge economic benefits that our own, New Zealand-grown innovative clean energy industry could give our country,” he said.
“This cutting-edge sector could provide tens of thousands of jobs, and give our economy a multi-billion dollar boost. The oil industry cannot come close to matching these figures.”
