Oil and gas exploration body yet to be consulted on block offers

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Energy Minister Megan Woods receive a petition from Greenpeace at Parliament last week / Photo: Mark Mitchell

With only weeks before a decision is to be announced, the oil and gas exploration industry body has yet to be consulted on the Government's plans for the future of block offers.

Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods told the NZ Petroleum Conference in Wellington that there would be no announcement on block offers today.

The industry conference is traditionally where the annual announcement for petroleum exploration permits, covering oil and gas, are made.

The minister's speech focused on laying out the need for a long transition period to the Government's aim of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2035 and a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.

"I know that the investment decisions and the planning for projects that people in this room make have enormous lead times and involve huge amounts of money. You have told me what you value most is certainty and predictability," Woods told conference delegates.

Woods reiterated that the Government would be announcing its decision on the future of block offers in "coming weeks".

She fielded a number of questions around what the future held for the gas industry in New Zealand, particularly in reference to gas exports to nations reliant on dirtier fuels such as coal.

But speaking after the minister's speech, Petroleum Exploration and Production NZ (PEPANZ) chief executive Cameron Madgwick said the peak industry body had so far not been consulted on the future of block offers.

"There's been no specific decisions so there's been no specific engagement on the matters she's talking about," he said.

Madgwick said he would expect PEPANZ to be consulted on the issue.

"It's important to us that we have an open and collaborative arrangement and discussions with the Government. What I heard the minister say was that she wanted to talk to industry in relation to steps that might be taken."

Madgwick expected some engagement between now and before any decision is announced.

"It's our expectation, and indeed the minister reiterated it this morning, there would be close consultation with industry so that's what I'm hearing and that's what I'm expecting to occur."

The Government is at a critical point in its decision-making over the future of its oil and gas exploration permits.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last week gave the strongest signal yet that the days of oil and gas exploration in New Zealand are numbered, saying the world had moved on from fossil fuels.

In a surprise appearance, Ardern appeared on Parliament's forecourt on Monday to accept a 45,000-strong Greenpeace petition calling for an end to oil and gas exploration.

"I ask now for a bit more time. We're working hard on this issue and we know it's something that we can't afford to spend much time on but we are actively considering it now," she told protesters.

In the lead-up to the election, Ardern said climate change was the "nuclear-free moment" of her generation.