New Oil And Gas Discovery In Taranaki Welcomed

The announcement of a positive result from OMV’s oil and gas exploration well in the Taranaki Basin is very exciting and promising news, says the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ).

OMV has today announced a positive result from the Toutouwai-1 exploration well which drilled 50km off the Taranaki coast earlier this month. Preliminary results show positive findings for hydrocarbons (natural gas and oil).

"Reports of the demise of our sector have been greatly and prematurely exaggerated," says PEPANZ Chief Executive John Carnegie.

"This is good news at a time when New Zealand’s economy really needs it.

"There is still plenty of work to be done before any development is confirmed, but the potential benefits to Taranaki and all New Zealand are substantial.

"42% of the profits from any new well goes to the taxpayer in royalties and taxes, and any new development would likely mean new jobs and export earnings.

"It could also help our long-term energy security given we have less than 11 years of natural gas reserves left. We need affordable and reliable energy to rebuild our economy and power our export industries.

"We haven’t had a commercial discovery since 2006. If we don’t develop our own energy then we are at the mercy of overseas producers, and could end up importing LNG. We think it’s much better to produce our own energy here in New Zealand instead.

"The energy provided by natural gas and oil still has a very important role to play as we transition to a lower emissions world."

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