Agencies discuss petroleum permits

Exploration drilling at TAG Oil's Ngapaeruru-1 well, east of Dannevirke

Government agencies controlling petroleum exploration and production are coming to Hastings this week to raise public awareness.

The Petroleum Information Session on Thursday is being held at the Hastings District Council's chambers, where people can talk directly with agencies.

There is a closed morning session for councils, iwi and hapu and a public session from 1pm to 3pm.

Attending regulators are the New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (petroleum permitting), the Department of Conservation (marine mammal protection), the Environmental Protection Authority (environmental management), Ministry for the Environment (environment policy) and Maritime NZ (oil spill response).

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals national manager Josh Adams said there were a number of petroleum permits off the Hawke's Bay/Wairarapa coast and exploration activities would likely be under way in the coming years.

"Our information session is about explaining the main activities that companies carry out when they are looking for oil and gas and how these are regulated and monitored by government," he said. "Essentially the regulatory system is designed to ensure the work is done safely, responsibly and to international best practice.

"Each of the regulators are independent and have specific roles at each step in the process to find and develop oil and gas reserves - from ensuring marine mammals are protected during marine seismic surveys and considering consents for drilling offshore wells, to being prepared in the case of an oil spill.

"The regulatory regime is robust but can be complicated. The afternoon information session is an opportunity for people to come along and talk directly to the various regulators and get a better understanding of the checks and balances in place."

TAG Oil has announced it will likely relinquish its remaining Hawke's Bay land-based exploration permit as it becomes risk-averse due to low petroleum prices.

TAG failed to secure a partner for its Gisborne drilling programme and announced last month it was handing back its exploration permit (PEP 38348).

It looks unlikely a drilling partner will be found for its Hawke's Bay permit (PEP 38349), which expires next year, and the company said it would probably be relinquished as well.