A new $7.6 million programme to promote oil and gas exploration around New Zealand has been announced by the Government.
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said today Crown Minerals had contracted GNS Science to deliver a number of projects focused on improving knowledge of New Zealand's petroleum potential.
"Providing better information about New Zealand's petroleum resources will increase the attractiveness of investing in exploration for local and foreign companies," he said.
The project will use Google Earth to establish a pilot visualisation network that covers New Zealand's territory out to the newly extended continental shelf limit.
Google Earth will be used to display information about offshore geological, geophysical and geographical data sets, ensuring the information is readily and freely available to potentially interested parties world wide.
