{"id":548929,"date":"2026-07-29T03:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T03:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/548929\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T03:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T03:47:10","slug":"first-offshore-petroleum-permit-granted-after-ban-repeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/548929\/","title":{"rendered":"First offshore petroleum permit granted after ban repeal"},"content":{"rendered":"Under the permit, EnZed Energy would undertake a staged exploration programme, beginning with a study of existing seismic data and geological studies to better understand the prospect\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n
With existing gas fields maturing, exploration remained an important part of understanding New Zealand\u2019s future energy options, Jones said.<\/p>\n
As of January 1, New Zealand\u2019s proven and probable natural gas reserves had declined 23% from the previous year to 731 petajoules \u2013 the lowest level since records began more than two decades ago.<\/p>\n
Jones said the decline underlined the need to better understand the country\u2019s remaining resource potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cExploration does not guarantee a discovery but it is an essential first step in understanding the resources New Zealand may have available to support future prosperity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The sharp fall in gas reserves, combined with low lake levels and calm wind conditions, was a key driver of the 2024 power price spike.<\/p>\n
EnZed Energy said its team had lived and worked in New Zealand and knew its geology, energy systems and regulatory landscape.<\/p>\n
The company said the permit would allow it to undertake exploration activities within a defined area.<\/p>\n
The initial work programme would focus on technical evaluation and interpretation of existing geological and geophysical information to better understand the area\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n
EnZed Energy executive chairman Neil Young said the permit represented an opportunity to apply decades of international exploration and commercial experience to a basin that remained \u201cone of the most extensively studied petroleum provinces in the Southern Hemisphere\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cKaheru is well known in New Zealand\u2019s oil and gas sector as one of the most prospective areas in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs such, it is an opportunity that deserves careful technical evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The permit represented an important opportunity to test New Zealand\u2019s potential for new, domestically produced energy.<\/p>\n
A successful discovery could strengthen long-term energy security, reduce reliance on imported fuels, support reliable electricity and preserve industrial production in key areas such as fertiliser, Young said.<\/p>\n
EnZed Energy expects any drilling programme will be conducted by a joint venture of a number of oil and gas companies, as is standard practice.<\/p>\n
The company recognised that New Zealand was facing important questions about future energy supply as existing domestic gas production declines.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no guarantee that any exploration programme will ultimately result in a commercial development,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, we believe it is important that New Zealand continues to rigorously evaluate opportunities that have the potential to contribute to the country\u2019s future energy needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Young has over three decades of executive leadership across the energy sector, including founding and leading ASX-listed energy companies.<\/p>\n
The ban was repealed by the current coalition Government in July, 2025, after the then Labour-led Government put it in place in 2018.<\/p>\n
The last major offshore natural gas discovery was the Pohokura field, off the Taranaki coast, in 2000.<\/p>\n
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.<\/p>\n
Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our\u00a0Business newsletter<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Under the permit, EnZed Energy would undertake a staged exploration programme, beginning with a study of existing seismic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[74,1567,1060,138,7230,2354,1888,266,19196,685,111,139,69,4732,90091,43014,97088,36565,7811,379,80],"class_list":["post-548929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-after","tag-awarded","tag-ban","tag-business","tag-coalition","tag-exploration","tag-first","tag-government","tag-granted","tag-last","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-offshore","tag-permit","tag-petroleum","tag-repeal","tag-reversed","tag-since","tag-year","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}