New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZP&M) commenced the consultation period for the acreage proposed for release in the Block Offer 2018 on 28 November 2018. The consultation period will continue until 14 March 2019. During this time, NZP&M will engage with iwi and hapu groups, as well as local authorities, to identify any areas that may be omitted from the Block Offer 2018, due to open for tender in Q2 2019.  The proposed acreage covers an area of 2,200 sq. km and is restricted to the onshore Taranaki Basin following the passing of the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill on 7 November 2018. The bill amends the Crown Minerals Act 1991 and gives effect to the Government's announcement made on 12 April 2018 that no new offshore petroleum exploration permits will be offered or awarded, and only onshore acreage in the Taranaki Basin will be offered.  Consultation for the Blocks Offer 2018 had originally opened on 12 April 2018 with a total of 1,703 sq. km of onshore acreage proposed for release. The tender was expected to open in August 2018, however uncertainty associated with the proposed Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill led to this being delayed. Though the onshore acreage outlined for 2018 continues to be offered in the gridded format that has been used for block offers since 2013, the area offered is vastly reduced compared to previous years. Over 480,000 sq. km was offered in 2017, 476,000 sq. km of which was offshore, and much of within frontier areas.
New Zealand New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals commences consultation for Block Offer 2018