Senior geologist talks of potential 'Pacific Norway'

As big multinational energy explorers focus on New Zealand's offshore petroleum basins, the chief petroleum geologist for Crown Minerals, Dr Richard Cook, says the oil and gas yet to be discovered could be key drivers of the nation's economy.

Dr Cook said New Zealand's oil and gas exports totalled $2.8 billion in the past financial year, beaten only by dairy and meat exports, and these exports were expected to rise significantly.

"We're looking to transform the country," he said.

State-owned GNS Science has previously talked about the potential for up to 10 billion barrels of oil to be recovered from the nation's deepwater frontiers.

Dr Cook said that rather than simply meeting a percentage of the nation's needs, the Government would like to provide energy for the nation over decades -- which would require multiple fields of the size of the Tui/Pohokura production area, and the conversion of lignite deposits to liquid fuels such as diesel, as well as the tapping of frozen methane hydrates on the seabed.

But a "major step" for the nation would be several large finds of natural gas or oil.

"The real ultimate aim would be to become a 'Pacific Norway', he said. This would need multiple big discoveries in the 10 prospective basins offshore -- likely all at greater depths than the 100m water depths of production wells off Taranaki.

The government has been providing seismic data on some of the basins to attract explorers and had recently collected seismic data in the Bounty Trough off Canterbury and the Pegasus Basin off Wellington, and these areas may be opened up to exploration bids this year.

Offers for the Reinga and Northland basins were due to close on August 18 and allocation of exploration permits would be decided on the basis of how much work companies were willing to do.

Brazilian giant Petrobras recently obtained a five-year exploration permit to explore the Raukumara Basin off the North Island's East Coast, and a few months ago American company Anadarko Petroleum Corporation acquired acreage off Otago, while ExxonMobil planned to explore the Great South Basin.

Texas-based Anadarko -- which has until August 21 to decide whether to go ahead with a $100m exploration will in its Otago prospect, in which it is a 50 percent shareholder with Origin Energy, is a 25 percent partner in the leaking Gulf of Mexico well, where BP is the operator.

About $314m was spent on New Zealand exploration in 2008-2009 and development of fields such as Maari, Manaia and Kupe totalled $1.27b, and in the same year the Government picked up royalties of $519m, with exports from the newly-developed fields expected to lift from this year.