Canadian-owned Tag Oil has been quick to allay fears that Hawke's Bay is about to be inundated with oil rigs following the announcement independent Texan oil giant, Apache Corporation, is funding a $100 million ground mapping programme.
Tag Oil's New Zealand chief operating officer Drew Cadenhead said seismic testing was unobtrusive. Cables were laid on the ground and a sound transmitted into the earth, and what bounced back was measured by geophones. "It's just some guys in utes and quads and a bunch of cables."
The first and most important step before the company became active in Hawke's Bay was consultation, he said. "We are not charging in under cover of darkness - engagement with people is the first step."
Alayna Watene, chief executive of Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, said she expected most Ngati Kahungunu to greet Tag Oil with an open ear. "As an individual, I think most will want to hear what are the risks and what are the opportunities," she said.
"You would expect those conversations would take place, but there are some groups who are already politicised on the issue and who may want to tell others what to think." Some had taken part in offshore protests last summer, when Brazilian oil giant Petrobras did seismic testing off East Cape, she said.