Monday 19 September 2016

Consultation has begun on proposed areas nominated for Block Offer 2017

Each year, the government runs the Block Offer, in which companies are invited to tender for permits to explore for oil and gas in a specific area. This helps the government decide when and where areas are made available for exploration.

Consultation

Before this occurs, we consult with iwi and hapū in these areas and ask them to identify areas of significance or sensitivity that the Minister of Energy and Resources needs to be aware of in deciding what blocks should be included in the tender.

This could include sites that might need to be protected for their cultural significance (for example, sites that are not protected by other legislation). The Minister may remove these blocks or areas within blocks, or put conditions on any permits over certain areas to protect them.

At this stage, we seek the views of the public through consultation with local authorities. This allows us to gain a better understanding of community views and any relevant regional issues (such as restrictions on drilling in the district plan). Due to local body elections, consultation will start on 17 October and end 18 November.

Following consultation, the Minister releases specific areas for bids. These release areas are made up of blocks, and bidders can bid for one or more adjoining blocks. This allows bidders to define their desired permit area based on their own analysis of the data available.

Areas in the proposal

The proposed 2017 blocks that we are consulting on have been selected based on their prospectivity, available data and anticipated commercial interest. This includes a range of mature and frontier acreage to appeal to a diverse range of operators.

The proposal for Block Offer 2017 includes two onshore block areas, one onshore/nearshore block area and four offshore block areas.