The New Zealand government’s New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals section has finally launched its delayed “Block Offer 2018” tender for petroleum exploration permits.
About 2,200 sq km of land in the onshore Taranaki basin of the country’s North Island is being offered for oil and gas exploration.
The acreage has been restricted to the onshore Taranaki by the New Zealand government’s decision late last year to ban drilling outside Taranaki as well as any new offshore exploration.
Although it represents twice the total acreage that was offered in the region in 2017, the new offer restricts access to conservation land, except for minimal impact activities, and imposes an additional “engagement” requirement on potential bidders.
Ilana Miller, national manager for petroleum and minerals at the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment, says the new condition explicitly requires permit holders to engage with local iwi (Maori tribes) on an ongoing basis. She added that there are specific early engagement requirements in relation to activities to be carried out within 200 m of areas of significance to iwi.
Proposals for the new acreage must be lodged by Aug. 28.
Exploration interest in New Zealand has fallen sharply since the world oil price collapse in 2014. Only one permit has been awarded in each of the offers made since then and no onshore acreage at all was awarded in the 2017 offer.
Onshore fields produced about 37% of the country’s natural gas in 2018. During the same period gas was used to generate about 12% of New Zealand’s electricity.