Offshore oil and gas permits reopen, but interest unclear

Thursday, 25 September 2025

Energy Resources Aotearoa says interest in new exploration is “clearly building”, but other industry sources suggest that’s from a low base.

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Oil and gas companies can apply for new offshore exploration permits from today, following Parliament’s decision in July to lift the ban imposed by the former government in 2018.

However, while permit applications are possible, doubt remains over the level of interest in actual new drilling.

John Carnegie, chief executive of Energy Resources Aotearoa, most of whose members have direct or indirect interests in the oil and gas sector, said “interest is clearly building”.

The association would be keeping a close eye on applications over the next few months, he said.

“Our partner groups, like the EnerGeo Alliance and Offshore Energy UK, have members who’ve shown interest in New Zealand’s updated regulatory settings.”

Energy Resources Aotearoa planned to speak to upstream explorers from North America, and looked forward to sharing the new opportunities with investors at the World Energy Council and International Gas Union meetings in Panama and London next month, Carnegie said.

However, there appears to be no confirmation that any businesses currently intend to apply for permits.

One industry source suggested any immediate interest might be from speculators.

A spokesperson for Austrian oil giant OMV, which owns the Māui gas field and majority stakes in the Pohokura and Maari fields, told The Post it had no plans to apply for new exploration permits at this stage.

Industry sources suggested that was probably the case for other international oil majors.

It is understood New Zealand-based Greymouth Petroleum intends to stick to onshore exploration only.

Resources Minister Shane Jones hopes a new process for issuing permits could make further exploration more likely.

The Government has regained the ability to open up new blocks of the seabed for exploration and put drilling rights out to tender, as had been the practice prior to 2018.

Resources Minister Shane Jones says the open market application process is designed to accelerate any activity.

But to make exploration more likely, oil and gas firms will also be able to pro-actively apply for prospecting permits in an area of their choosing by filling out a seven-page form and paying an $8337.50 application fee, through what Jones described as an “open market application process”.

If an application was made, the industry regulator, New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, would call for competing applications for three months to ensure permits were granted “based on the best proposed work programmes and outcomes”, Jones said.

The focus was on reviving exploration activity in new prospects and existing gas-producing reserves as soon as possible, he said.

“The open market application process better balances this urgency with robust competition by allowing an operator to apply for prospecting and exploration acreage as soon as they are ready.”

Jones attempted to drum up interest in oil and gas exploration off the east coast of the South Island during a visit to Singapore in July.

However, he acknowledged any hydrocarbons discovered there would probably need to be exported because of a lack of a natural gas pipeline network and other infrastructure in the South Island.

Carnegie said opening up permits and adding the open-market pathway were practical steps that could “put capital and operators back to work”.

But to commit the billions of dollars required for exploration and development, investors needed confidence that the new policies would remain in place, he said.

“Durable, bipartisan policy settings will be essential to unlock a secure system that provides the energy abundance New Zealand needs to thrive.”

Green Party energy spokesperson Scott Willis was scathing.

“It takes an average of 16 years to go from exploration to production of fossil fuels. The Government knows reversing the oil and gas ban won’t lower energy prices for New Zealanders in the next couple of years,” he said.

“Nothing says climate leadership like opening new oil and gas fields in the middle of a climate crisis.”

Labour Party energy spokesperson Megan Woods said in July that the Government was acting on a “hope and prayer” for a fresh discovery and oil and gas firms had spent $1 billion in their existing offshore permit since 2018 without finding anything.