Operators in New Zealand will be able to apply for new petroleum exploration permits this month under the country’s Crown Minerals Amendment Bill.
Operators in New Zealand will be able to apply for new petroleum exploration permits this month under the country’s Crown Minerals Amendment Bill. The bill removes the ban on oil and gas exploration beyond onshore Taranaki and signals the coalition government’s intent to reinvigorate investment in Crown-owned minerals.
‘This Government is pragmatic about the vital role natural gas will play in our energy mix in the decades ahead and we have set a course for greater energy security backed by our own indigenous reserves,’ said resources minister Shane Jones. ‘The ill-fated exploration ban in 2018 has exacerbated shortages in our domestic gas supply by obliterating new investment in the exploration and development needed to meet our future gas needs. Reserves are also falling faster than anticipated.
