Oil industry confidence returning?

"The application showed people still considered there was plenty of life still left in the Taranaki Basin."

Cameron Madgwick

An application to undertake one of the largest ever offshore 3D seismic surveys off the Taranaki coast indicated there was renewed confidence for further oil exploration in the area, an industry insider says.

Oilfield services company Schlumberger New Zealand has applied to survey up to 5000 square kilometres of the Taranaki Basin as part of a larger area encompassing 18,840sqkm.

The survey has been described as ‘‘monstrous’’ by Greenpeace for its potential impact on marine mammals and because it could contribute to the discovery of fossil fuels blamed for climate change.

Schlumberger’s application to the Department of Conservation follows on from offshore seismic surveys completed off the East Coast in late 2016 and early 2017.

Petroleum Exploration and Production Association New Zealand chief executive Cameron Madgwick said the application showed the industry’s confidence for further exploration was improving.

‘‘Taranaki is a proven area for exploration, and with the price of oil slowly rising confidence was increasing,’’ he said.

‘‘The application showed people still considered there was plenty of life still left in the Taranaki Basin.’’

Madgwick said the survey could be seen as a precursor to greater economic activity for the region.

Any survey vessel used in the programme would need to be serviced at Port Taranaki, including refuelling and re-supplying, he said.

The data collected from the surveys would be processed and made available to Crown agencies, and later sold to exploration companies.

Seismic surveys are used by oil and gas exploration companies to provide detailed images of rock types to find the location and size of oil and gas reservoirs beneath the sea bed.

All surveys within the exclusive economic zone require observers on board the ship to report and record sightings of mammals near the operation area.

Industry website Energy News reported the survey could be the largest undertaken in the Taranaki Basin.

It included the Maui, Tui and Maari oil and gas producing fields operated and owned by Australasian oil and gas business Tamarind Resources, Shell New Zealand, and the German oil and gas company OMV, respectively.

All three fields are anticipated to have opportunities for future exploration.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals petroleum national manager Josh Adams said the programme could take four months and the data made available to oil and gas companies under licence, the website reported.

The survey provided the opportunity to extend the life of the existing fields and infrastructure through identifying exploration targets and potentially unlocking further production, it was reported.

‘‘Any discoveries and any additional production would benefit the Taranaki region and the Crown as well as improve New Zealand’s energy security,’’ he said.

Greenpeace New Zealand said the seismic survey could harm whales and dolphins, and affect marine food sources, such as zooplankton, Greenpeace climate campaigner Kate Simcock said.

‘‘This Schlumberger survey is absolutely monstrous,’’ she said.