Flesh has been added to the bones of the Government's oil and gas exploration action plan announced almost a year ago with regulatory changes, reviews and a funding boost to permit agency Crown Minerals.
• Extended permit call for energy exploration
While interest in New Zealand from major players United States-based Andarko and Brazilian Petrobras have been welcomed, the lessons to be learned from the Gulf of Mexico disaster also will be looked at by Government agencies.
Much is being promoted from the 15 oil basins, mainly under-explored and higher-risk frontier basins which lie within the 5.7 million sq km of seabed around New Zealand.
Opening the New Zealand Petroleum Conference yesterday, Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee continued with the theme of oil and gas exploration being well placed to lead an economic recovery for the country, with petroleum having contributed $2.1 billion in exports in 2009-10.
About $990 million in royalties was earned by the Government in the two financial years to June 2010, Mr Brownlee told about 500 delegates attending the conference.
"The petroleum sector has played an important part in getting New Zealand through the recession ... it is our fourth-largest export earner," he said.
While saying a review of Crown Minerals permitting work had found it to have performed well, he announced yesterday the agency would be enlarged to have a more commercial and strategic approach.
The new unit would be a key driver of an integrated petroleum investment strategy based on geoscience and promotion investment, which the Government was developing.
It was understood Crown Minerals' annual budget might be almost doubled from last year's $9.4 million and staffing doubled from its present 40, but including outside contractors.
Mr Brownlee is expected to verify this in coming weeks.
Progress had been made in the past 10 months since the action plan was announced, with a discussion document on the Crown Minerals Act out for consultation and an initial review of royalty and taxation regimes finding they were generally fit for the purpose with no major reforms under way, Mr Brownlee said.
A decision was expected by the end of the year after submissions on a paper on options for petroleum resource information quality, he said.
The country had jumped from 33rd place to 18th in the list of most attractive petroleum jurisdictions in which to invest.
The oil-leak disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which had prompted a moratorium on all oil rig work there at present, had raised public concerns about offshore exploration in New Zealand - especially with oil prospects in the frontier Great South Basin at similar depths and distances from coastal Otago and Southland.
Mr Brownlee said because of the Gulf disaster the Ministry of Economic Development, Department of Labour and Maritime New Zealand would undertake a review of health and safety and environmental regulations for the sector.
• Reporter Simon Hartley is hosted at the conference by Crown Minerals.
