Todd Exploration Management Services Ltd., a unit of Todd Corp., was granted a 10-year exploration permit by New Zealand authorities for PEP 60573 covering 105 sq km, east of Inglewood, in the onshore Taranaki basin.
A number of bids were submitted for Block Offer 2018 and all underwent evaluation by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment. The release area was restricted to the onshore Taranaki region, covering 2,188 sq km following a November 2018 law change that gave effect to the Government’s announcement that it would no longer grant offshore petroleum exploration permits and would restrict future block offers to the onshore Taranaki region.
The permit does not include any land listed in Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act (including national parks, nature reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries), World Heritage sites, or areas of importance to Māori identified in section 3.1 of the Petroleum Program (Mount Taranaki and the Pouakai, Pukeiti, and Kaitake Ranges).
The Taranaki basin underlies the Taranaki Peninsula and extends offshore from the top of the South Island to just south of Auckland. It holds all of New Zealand’s commercial hydrocarbon resources and is supported with production, processing, and transport infrastructure.
