New Zealand invited bids by Oct. 15 for 23 exploratory blocks that cover 40,198.5 sq km of seabed and 3,305.5 sq km of land in Waikato, Taranaki, Tasman, the West Coast, and Southland.
New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals, a branch of the Ministry of Economic Development, chose the blocks based on current knowledge of the geology and oil and gas prospectivity. New Zealand has a no penalty seismic option approach to acreage allocation, favorable fiscal terms, and is noted for an outstanding business climate, the ministry said.
