OMV granted drilling consent

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has granted consent to an oil and gas company to drill off the coast of Otago.

Austrian oil giant OMV applied for permission to drill up to 10 exploration and appraisal wells, along with consent for associated discharges in the Great South Basin.

The submissions were non-notified, meaning public submissions were not sought, a statement from the authority said yesterday.

The Great Southern Basin is home to protected species including yellow-eyed penguins, albatross, southern right whales and New Zealand fur seals.

The consents were granted by the authority’s decision-making committee, which sought expert advice and concluded the potential effects on the biological environment were not significant because they were either temporary or involved small areas of habitat, the authority said.

Similar consents were granted to OMV in October for drilling and discharge off the Taranaki coast. In September, OMV was also granted discharge consent in Otago after a three-day hearing in Dunedin in July.

The latest consent is subject to conditions to ensure adverse effects are ‘‘appropriately managed’’, EPA said.

The conditions include a requirement to carry out environmental monitoring before each well is drilled and for three years after completion.

The decision has been slammed by Greenpeace as ‘‘deeply hypocritical’’ after the Government championed its climate leadership at the Madrid climate talks last week.

Climate and energy campaigner Amanda Larsson said politicians had been selling their ‘‘supposed climate leadership’’ at the global talks. ‘‘But, under their watch, the EPA is allowing one of history’s largest climate polluters to drill for more oil and gas right here in New Zealand.’’

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an end to any new offshore oil exploration permits in April 2018.

‘‘Ardern made a bold, world-leading decision when she banned new permits for offshore oil and gas exploration in April 2018. It’s a policy that she and her government have used repeatedly to sell New Zealand’s climate leadership to the world,’’ Larsson said. ‘‘It is deeply hypocritical to now approve more oil and gas drilling just days after returning from the world’s most important annual climate conference.’’

The Petroleum Exploration and Production Association said it was ‘‘great news for New Zealand and the pursuit of affordable secure energy’’.

‘‘It makes sense to develop our own energy here in New Zealand rather than import it,’’ chief executive John Carnegie said.