Petroleum exploration consent has been granted to Greymouth Gas Turangi through Block Offer 2020, Resources Minister, Shane Jones, confirmed today.
Mr Jones said the approval was another step in New Zealand’s journey back to resilience.
“The Coalition Government will reinstate the permitting of new petroleum exploration and rebuild confidence that New Zealand is an attractive and reliable option for investors,” he said.
“I will be introducing a bill later this year that will overturn the previous government’s ban on new permits for petroleum exploration beyond the onshore Taranaki region.”
Greymouth Gas Turangi has been granted a permit for a 61.9 sq km area northwest of Stratford in Taranaki for a period of 10 years.
The permit allows the holder to search for Crown-owned reserves of oil and gas in the area set down.
