Source: Energy Resources Aotearoa
Energy Resources Aotearoa says the Government’s latest Gas Security Fund investment and an updated petroleum exploration data pack will help companies assess New Zealand’s gas potential and advance a promising offshore prospect in Taranaki.
Chief Executive John Carnegie says the announcements support successive steps in exploration: improving access to existing geological information, making it easier to use, and helping EnZed Energy raise the capital to drill the Kaheru prospect off Taranaki.
“Good, readily available geological data is the platform a thriving exploration industry is built on. An updated petroleum exploration data pack adds to the information available to companies looking at New Zealand. It’s the first comprehensive update since 2018, bringing together open-file well, seismic and geological data from across our petroleum basins. Carnegie says.
“New Zealand is competing with other countries for exploration capital. Companies need evidence of where the opportunities might be before they commit money to finding out what’s there.”
The Gas Security Fund will invest $21.5 million through a time-limited equity arrangement for EnZed Energy’s Kaheru offshore exploration project.
“Kaheru is exactly the kind of exploration we need. It’s a serious prospect off Taranaki, targeting an estimated 182 petajoules of gas.
New Zealand’s gas fields are declining, and discoveries won’t happen unless we drill. Kaheru gives us a chance to find a significant new source of domestic gas. EnZed Energy is prepared to pursue it, and this investment helps bring the drilling campaign closer.” Carnegie says
Earlier this month, the Fund announced up to $23.5 million in loans for Todd Energy’s McKee Gas Cap and McKee-Tariki projects. Both use existing Taranaki fields and infrastructure and, if successful, are expected to have gas flowing by the end of 2027.
“Those Todd Energy projects offer a way to bring more gas to market relatively quickly. Kaheru and the updated petroleum exploration data point to the opportunities further ahead.
With offshore exploration taking years to turn into production, we need that work under way while projects in existing fields help address the immediate supply problem,” Carnegie says.
“The Fund is helping individual projects move forward, but building on this portfolio approach to New Zealand’s energy security will take much larger pools of private capital.
Investors need to trust that New Zealand’s policy settings will last over the life of these projects.”