Taranaki onshore drilling block offer opens for tender

Wednesday, 1 May 2019

The launch of the onshore drilling Block Offer tender followed consultation with iwi and hapū. (file photo)

More than 2000 square kilometres of Taranaki has been offered for oil and gas drilling with strict new rules around how successful bidders engage with iwi.

The offer comes just one year after the government's shock announcement that no new offshore exploration permits would be issued and onshore exploration would be limited to Taranaki.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, an agency of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, launched the block offer 2018 tender on Tuesday for petroleum exploration permits.

The offer followed consultation with iwi and hapū, which led to an extra condition being added to the bid document, Petroleum & Minerals national manager Ilana Miller said in the announcement.

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'The new condition explicitly requires permit holders to engage with iwi on an ongoing basis, with specific early engagement requirements in relation to activities to be undertaken within 200 metres of areas of significance to iwi.'

The law change also prohibits access to conservation land in the block offer process, except for 'minimum impact activities'. There are approximately 35.7sqkm of conservation land in the block offer consultation area, but this is not the final area for bidding.

The area does not include any national parks, nature reserves, or wildlife sanctuaries, World Heritage sites, or areas of importance to Māori including Mt Taranaki and the Pouākai, Pukeiti and Kaitake Ranges.

Parihaka Pā has also been excluded along with land that is being investigated by the New Plymouth District Council and Taranaki iwi regarding possible wāhi tapu sites.

National energy and resources spokesman Jonathan Young said the way the offer was announced showed the government's 'utter disdain' for the hydrocarbon industry.

'No announcement. No invitation to the Beehive,' Young said in a statement.

'This is in effect a back of the bike shed token offer with no fanfare.'

The Government was just fulfilling the minimum legislative requirements, he said.

'Given the vast majority of New Zealand's territory is now closed for business following the government's ban outside of onshore Taranaki, the only people interested in block offer 2018 will be those companies already in NZ.'

A Petroleum & Minerals spokesperson said other channels, along with a release on their website, had also been used to publicise the launch, including their LinkedIn page and a direct mail campaign to those in the industry, which includes those operating already in New Zealand and others that have shown an interest in exploration here.

But in a written statement, Petroleum Exploration and Production Association (Pepanz) chief executive Cameron Madgwick said it was pleasing to see the block offer going ahead.

'It remains very important for New Zealand to explore for more gas as about 400,000 businesses and households use either natural gas or LPG for heat, cooking and industrial purposes.

'It's also very important to our electricity system, helping keep prices down when other sources are scarce.'

Climate Justice Taranaki opposed the block offer, saying radical, collective change was needed.

'If we are to take climate change seriously - and we owe it to our children - then we need to stop drilling for more oil and gas now.

'Handing out permits to drilling companies now is like handing out death certificates to our children.'

The block offer goes against what Greenpeace is calling for - a complete end to fossil fuel exploration on land and sea, as well as the revoking of existing permits.

'Despite clear signs we're in a climate emergency and clear warnings from scientists and economists that we can't afford to burn even known oil reserves, oil companies like NZOG and OMV are still being allowed to go to the ends of the earth in search of new oil and gas to burn,' Greenpeace campaigner Amanda Larsson said.

The tender will close on August 28, 2019.