New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals (NZP&M) opened the New Zealand Block Offer 2019 on 27 July 2020. The blocks available for tender are restricted to the onshore Taranaki Basin and cover a total area of 2,451 sq km. All bids must be submitted to NZP&M by 5 pm New Zealand Standard Time (NZST) on 4 November 2020. The final exploration permits are expected to be announced before 1 April 2021.  Bids may comprise a single block or a combination of contiguous blocks forming a 'bid area'. A company may bid for multiple bid areas on a separate basis, each with its own application fee. Subsequent to the closing date, each bid will be subject to a qualifying bid check. If accepted, NZP&M will then determine whether the bid is competed before undertaking a work programme assessment, a company capability assessment and a compliance assessment. Questions regarding the Block Offer 2019 may be submitted to: blockofferquestions@mbie.govt.nz before 5 pm NZST on 14 October 2020. The final answers to questions will be made available on the NZP&M website at 5 pm NZST on 21 October 2020.  Consultation for the proposed blocks was open between 25 September 2019 and 20 November 2019, during which time NZP&M engaged with iwi and hapu groups and local authorities to determine if the release areas could be included in the 2019 offer. The proposed area covered 2,568 sq km and was selected on the basis of prospectivity, available data, potential commercial interest, and alignment with the amended legislation relating to the 2018 Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Act which restricts the allocation of exploration permits exclusively to the onshore Taranaki region.  The area released for the Block Offer 2019 is marginally larger than that released for the Block Offer 2018, which was 2,188 sq km. This remains significantly smaller than previous years with over 480,000 sq km offered in 2017, 476,000 sq km of which was offshore. A single permit, PEP 60573, was awarded from the Block Offer 2018 despite several bids being received.
New Zealand (Taranaki B.) PEP 60573 op. by TODD (100%)