Source: Energy Resources Aotearoa
Energy Resources Aotearoa welcomes the first loans from the Government’s $200 million Gas Security Fund, showing New Zealand has gas projects ready to go and companies prepared to invest.
Chief Executive John Carnegie says the decision to provide Todd Energy with up to $23.5 million in time-limited loans for two Taranaki projects is a long-awaited boost to bring forward projects after several years of difficult investment conditions. Experienced operator Todd Energy will contribute around $10.1 million of its own capital.
“A new well at McKee and accessing deeper gas at McKee-Tariki could unlock up to 19.9 petajoules of additional gas reserves over five to nine years, with gas expected to be flowing by the end of 2027 if the projects are successful.
“These are practical opportunities using existing fields to get more gas into the market quickly. They also show what can happen when public funding helps unlock private investment.”
Carnegie says production from existing fields can help address the near-term supply challenge, while further exploration and investment in storage will be important for rebuilding reserves and supporting the energy system over the longer term.
“We need to keep bringing more domestic gas to market, and we need the ability to store it so it is available when demand is high.
There are investment opportunities – with 17 proposals so far – across that whole chain, from producing more from existing fields through to exploration and storage.”
He says the Gas Security Fund also strengthens the case for further work on the wider investment environment facing petroleum projects.
“Petroleum projects require large amounts of capital committed over many years. Investors will look at the quality of the opportunities in the ground and the durability of the rules they are investing under.
“Progress on regulatory and sovereign risk would strengthen it further and help attract the private capital needed to develop more of these opportunities
“We’ve spent a long time talking about how to get more gas into the system. We now have projects being backed and a strong pipeline of further proposals. Let’s get on with it.”