A newly-formed company is launching a fresh bid to find oil and gas off the coast of Otago.
CBX Energy Limited, which was incorporated as a company in January, has applied to prospect in the offshore Canterbury Basin.
The company is jointly-owned by Wellington-based Craig Barry and a company based in the United Arab Emirates.
CBX Energy’s prospecting plans follow a number of numerous failed searches for oil and gas in the Canterbury Basin and neighbouring Great South Basin.
A joint venture headed by OMV drilled off the coast south of Dunedin in 2014 but plugged and abandoned the well in 2020.
Resources Minister Shane Jones said CBX Energy’s application signalled renewed confidence in the oil and gas sector.
New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals today opened a three-month competitive process for CBX Energy’s application.
The proposal outlines a programme of technical and economic studies, including work on a Canterbury Basin development strategy.
“Further prospecting and exploration in the Canterbury Basin could unlock new domestic energy resources, strengthening New Zealand’s long‑term energy resilience and creating valuable economic opportunities,” Mr Jones said in a statement.
NZP&M would be accepting competing applications until June 24.
A permit may be awarded in response to the best application that also meets requirements of the Crown Minerals Act 1991.
A petroleum prospecting permit is an early‑stage, low‑impact permit that allows a company to search for evidence of petroleum/oil and gas.
Since the removal of the petroleum exploration ban in late 2025, two exploration permit applications have already progressed through the competitive process and are now under assessment, with decisions expected later this year.
– Allied Media