The government has reopened applications for oil and gas exploration, ending the 2018 ban. Photo / Tania Whyte
By Craig McCulloch of RNZ
The Government has reopened applications for oil and gas exploration across the whole of New Zealand for the first time since the 2018 ban, with a new faster route for awarding permits.
Industry leaders hailed the move as vital for energy security, but the Green Party condemned it as a sign the coalition cares little for the climate crisis.
From Thursday, companies can apply for new prospecting and exploration permits anywhere in the country – not just onshore Taranaki.
Resources Minister Shane Jones said a new “open market” pathway would allow firms to apply at any time for permits to explore new areas of land and sea.
After an application was lodged, competitors would have three months to make rival bids, with officials then choosing the strongest proposal.
That approach would sit alongside the existing Block Offer tender process, where the Government selects areas once a year, which companies can compete for by submitting detailed bids.
Jones said the new pathway would be more responsive to investor interest, incentivising bold exploration plans.
“Confidence in the gas sector took a significant hit when the exploration ban was introduced in 2018,” Jones said.
“This has left a gaping hole in New Zealand’s medium-term energy security, and... we need to get the sector back to work to play catch-up.”
Jones promised further announcements to come, including more details about the $200 million fund set aside in this year’s Budget to co-invest in new gas projects.
The announcement also included a new streamlined permit category for hobby miners, making it easier for people to undertake “small-scale gold mining activity” predominantly on the West Coast and in Otago.
Jones said the lighter rules – with simpler application tests and fewer reporting requirements – would free up regulators to focus on bigger projects.
In July, the coalition parties – as promised – repealed the exploration ban introduced under former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Energy Resources Aotearoa chief executive John Carnegie applauded the move as a necessary pivot “from crisis management to enabling the recovery of New Zealand’s gas reserves”.
“Gas keeps the lights on, firms our renewable grid and supports thousands of high-value jobs,” he said.
“Opening up the permit area and adding an open market pathway are practical steps that can put capital and operators back to work in New Zealand.”
Carnegie said the new approach balanced urgency with fair competition.
He also expressed enthusiasm for the promised co-investment details: “Exploration is capital-intensive. Clear signals that the Crown is prepared to share that risk alongside industry will help to bring capital back into New Zealand.”
Carnegie, however, warned that the 2018 ban had caused “lasting damage” and said investors needed confidence that the new policy settings would remain in place under future governments.
That industry plea was immediately undermined by the Green Party, which accused the Government of pouring more oil and gas on the “climate fire”.
Green energy spokesperson Scott Willis pledged to reinstate the ban if elected and to revoke any permits granted “under the current fossil fuel-obsessed regime”.
“Nothing says climate leadership like opening new oil and gas fields in the middle of a climate crisis.”
Willis said the “farcical” policy would not bring any short-term relief for New Zealanders struggling with power prices.
“It takes an average of 16 years to go from exploration to production of fossil fuels,” he said.
“This Government... seems intent on keeping us dependent on fossil fuels, and giving hundreds of millions in handouts to corporate fossil fuel lobbyists.”
The Labour Party has previously said it would reinstate the oil and gas ban but would not revoke any existing permits.
- RNZ