NZ oil and gas exploration continues to grow
NZ oil and gas exploration continues to grow
The
Labour-led government's drive to secure New Zealand's energy
future has been boosted by the granting of seven exploration
permits to find new oil and gas reserves.
Associate
Minister Energy Harry Duynhoven today announced the results
of the Taranaki/Wanganui bidding rounds with three offshore
exploration permits
awarded to Greymouth Petroleum,
Highland Exploration Corporation, and Hugh Green
Energy.
In addition, a further four exploration permits
have been issued outside the
bidding round – one to
Hugh Green Energy Ltd, one to Westech Energy NZ Ltd, and two
to L&M Petroleum Ltd.
"Today's announcement, and the
upcoming Great South Basin blocks offer,
shows that the
pace of exploration in New Zealand continues to grow.
"It
also comes after the recent news that the Kupe gas field's
production is
ramping up. All these developments show
that the work needed to secure our
energy future is well
under way," Mr Duynhoven said.
“New Zealand has an enormous range of exploration potential which is attracting interest from small, independent domestic and international companies through to the super-major oil companies.
"The Great South Basin, with approximately 400,000 sq km on offer, certainly has the scale to attract the largest oil companies.
"The Labour-led government is committed to ensuring we have a well-functioning energy sector, which is essential for the continued transformation of New Zealand into an innovative, high value and export-led economy.
"We want to maintain a reliable and robust supply of energy at fair and affordable prices. Today's announcements, and other recent developments in the energy sector, are steps in the right direction," Mr Duynhoven said.
Ends