The government has reopened applications for oil and gas exploration throughout New Zealand for the first time since the 2018 ban, introducing a new, expedited process for granting permits.
Companies are now able to apply for new prospecting and exploration permits across all areas, not limited to onshore Taranaki.
Resources Minister Shane Jones said a new “open market” approach will enable companies to apply for permits to explore new land and sea areas at any time.
Once an application is submitted, competitors will have three months to submit rival bids, after which officials will select the best proposal.
This approach will operate alongside the current block offer tender process, in which the government annually selects areas for companies to compete for by submitting detailed bids.
Jones explained that the new pathway would better respond to investor interest, encouraging more ambitious exploration plans.
“Confidence in the gas sector took a significant hit when the exploration ban was introduced in 2018,” he said.
“This has left a gaping hole in New Zealand’s medium-term energy security, and… we need to get the sector back to work to play catch-up.”
The announcement also introduces a new simplified permit category for hobby miners, making it easier for individuals to carry out “small-scale gold mining activity,” mainly in Otago and on the West Coast.
Jones said the relaxed rules, featuring simpler application criteria and reduced reporting obligations, would allow regulators to concentrate on larger projects.
Energy Resources Aotearoa chief executive John Carnegie praised the move as an essential shift “from crisis management to enabling the recovery of New Zealand’s gas reserves.”
“Gas keeps the lights on, firms our renewable grid and supports thousands of high-value jobs. Opening up the permit area and adding an open market pathway are practical steps that can put capital and operators back to work in New Zealand.”
Carnegie believed the new approach struck a balance between urgency and fair competition.
Energy spokesperson and Dunedin MP Scott Willis vowed to reinstate the ban if elected next year and to cancel any permits issued “under the current fossil fuel-obsessed regime.”
“Nothing says climate leadership like opening new oil and gas fields in the middle of a climate crisis,” he said.