Police could have sealed the Pike River mine and saved any potential survivors...

An estimate of 160 billion barrels has companies scrambling to drill in pristine ecosystem, writes Michael McCarthy.

The Government expects that no more than 15pc of the shares in newly part privatised state assets will end up owned offshore.

The Government has put an emphasis on exploiting New Zealand's oil and gas potential in its Energy Strategy announced this morning, and is proposing changes to the industry's exploration permit regime.