Gas Reserves Decline To Lowest Level On Record

Annual petroleum reserves data released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) shows as of 1 January 2026 New Zealand’s natural gas proven plus probable (2P) reserves declined 23% from last year to 731 petajoules (PJ), the lowest level since recording began 20 years ago, says Amapola Generosa, Domains Manager, MBIE.

“Natural gas reserves have continued to decline in line with operators’ field information and expected production,” says Generosa.

“New Zealand’s 2P reserves decreased by 217 PJ, of this 108 PJ was gas produced over the year, and 109 PJ reflected downward revisions to existing estimates.

“The largest 2P change was at the Pohokura field, which reported a 129 PJ decrease partly linked to the underperformance of a well.

“This was partly offset by an upward revision at the Mangahewa field, where successful drilling enabled some contingent resources to be promoted to reserves.

“The Turangi field now holds 380 PJ, accounting for 51% of New Zealand’s remaining 2P natural gas reserves - up from 42% last year,” says Generosa.

Data released today also shows that New Zealand’s 2C contingent gas resources, gas known to exist but not currently considered commercially recoverable due to one or more contingencies, were 1,950 PJ, down 61 PJ (3%) from last year.

Operators’ expected production profiles indicate 2026 gas production of 85 PJ, which is 15% lower than the profile submitted for the 1 January 2025 reserves release.

Read the full Petroleum Reserves 2026 data release here: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-statistics-and-modelling/energy-statistics/petroleum-reserves-data

NOTES:

As part of this release, MBIE will also be publishing a glossary of terms and an overview of the most recent data on their website: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-statistics-and-modelling/energy-statistics/petroleum-reserves-data

Proven plus Probable (2P) reserves
An estimate of the amount of petroleum that a producer expects to produce from a field, based on current development plans and existing economic, technical, and regulatory conditions. 2P reserves represent gas that operators consider commercially recoverable.

Contingent resources (2C)
An estimate of the amount of petroleum that is potentially recoverable from known accumulations but is not currently considered commercially recoverable because one or more contingencies have not yet been met. These contingencies may include economic, regulatory, technical, or development factors.

Deliverability
A measure of the rate at which a gas field can produce gas, typically expressed as terajoules per day (TJ/day). Deliverability may be limited by the capacity of a field’s processing facilities or by the ability of gas wells to produce gas.

Expected production profiles
Forwardlooking estimates provided by field operators showing how much gas they expect to be able to produce in future years, based on current development plans and information available at the time the data is submitted. These profiles are updated annually and do not account for unplanned outages.

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