The Ministry of Economic Development opened tenders for oil and gas exploration on 23 blocks of sea and land yesterday in what Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley said was "an important step towards realising the potential of New Zealand's oil and gas resources".
Oil and gas exploration companies have until October to submit exploration work programme bids for one or more of the 23 areas, covering just over 40,000sq km of offshore seabed and more than 3300sq km of land in Waikato, Taranaki, Tasman, the West Coast and Southland.
But the Green Party, which opposes deep sea oil and gas drilling, warned two of the blocks would require exploratory wells drilled at least 1km below the surface of the ocean.
One of those blocks is southeast of Wellington in waters off rugged Cape Palliser where the sea bed is 1000m-2750m below the surface.
"Exploratory wells may sound harmless, but the Gulf of Mexico spill was from an exploratory well of 1500m," Greens energy spokesman Gareth Hughes said.
"Drillers here face greater earthquake risks and wilder seas than in the Gulf of Mexico and handle much heavier oils, yet we have fewer resources to deal with a spill."
Mr Heatley said New Zealanders wanted jobs and economic growth "but want to be sure that any development of our oil and gas resources is done in a safe and environmentally responsible way".
"Alongside the exploration permit process, we are making big improvements to the wider regime.
These include environmental legislation for the Exclusive Economic Zone, now in Parliament; reviewing the Crown Minerals Act and health and safety regulations for petroleum operations; and a new code of conduct for minimising disturbance to marine mammals from acoustic survey work."
David Binnie, general manager of New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, which is managing the tender process, said the blocks had been selected because of the likelihood they contained significant quantities of oil and gas.
