During a Hawke's Bay Regional Planning Committee meeting yesterday , members voiced their frustration about this, adding they were prepared to challenge the Government on the proposed prohibition.
Council chairman Rex Graham said he was "not very happy" the council's request had not been acknowledged.
"We asked the Government to give us 12 nautical miles free of oil exploration and they've completely ignored us," he said.
In response, New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals national petroleum manager Josh Adams said the council's request had to be balanced against "the Government's right to manage our petroleum resource".
"Hawke Bay is prospective for oil and gas and has existing seismic and well data, which is useful for further petroleum exploration," he said. "Explorers will be able to gather more information to better understand the geology of the area, with the release area coming to 3NM.
"New Zealand has a robust regulatory regime to ensure petroleum activity is undertaken safely, responsibly and that the environment is protected."
While the block offer meant space in the coastal marine area would be open for oil and gas exploration, such activity might not proceed for several years, council group manager strategic development James Palmer said.
Companies are able to bid for exploration permits until September 6, however the exploration itself could take several years to begin as there would need to be a successful tender, and an exploration programme approved.
Mr Palmer said this would allow time for council to continue with its proposed plan change process. However, he noted extending the prohibition to cover the marine area could give rise to legal issues - namely the Government allocating space to companies before the plan change proceeded.
"But I believe the council has signalled to the industry quite clearly its intention to consider a plan change in this area so in effect they are on notice," he said.
Some committee members supported a proposition by councillor Rick Barker that they seek support from other councils around the country, in what would otherwise be an "unequal arm wrestle" between themselves and the Government over the issue.
"If it was a serious challenge to say that we want to push back the Government's ability to offer block offers to such an extent, we'd need to have in my view at least other regional councils on board," he said.
"So it then becomes a showdown between the Government and regional councils on behalf of their communities. If we're going to have an arm wrestle, that's where I'd prefer to be."
Even if the prohibition of the coastal area did not proceed, Mr Palmer said the council would still have regulatory oversight - such as resource consents being required for companies to undertake exploration, or to drill wells.
To coincide with the meeting, a "Support the New Regional Council to Protect HB from Oil and Gas" gathering was planned for outside the council - attendees were few.
