Short-term plans for ship-borne hydrographic oil and gas exploration off Otago's coast are unlikely to be disrupted by plunging oil prices but long-term plans could yet be altered.
Texas-based giant Anadarko and New Zealand-listed New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG) are going ahead with commitments to hydrographic surveying off Otago, in the southern sector of the Canterbury Basin and Taranaki, but any longer-term plans are yet to be announced.
Oil plunged from $US116 a barrel in October to around $US45 in some global markets yesterday, raising the question of whether exploration budgets will be cut around New Zealand.
Regardless of the oil price, a decision on more drilling off the South Island is at least two years away.
Craigs Investment Partners broker Peter McIntyre said it was likely that oil companies in the early stages of planning would put aside exploration plans, but those already committed and under way - such as hydrographic surveys - would go ahead.
Around the world, explorers are pulling back on drilling programmes, rigs are idle and some companies are considering hiring supertankers to stockpile oil while prices are at six-year low, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Anadarko's New Zealand corporate affairs manager, Alan Seay, contacted yesterday, confirmed ship-borne hydrographic surveys would be going ahead next month at its two prospects off the coast of Oamaru, or about 60km north of Dunedin.
''The company [Anadarko] has not yet announced its capital [spending] programme for 2015, which will be in March. There will be more visibility then,'' he said of knowing its medium-term intentions for further New Zealand exploration.
