Gas availability
There has been recent comment in the media regarding gas availability and the future of the industry in New Zealand, given that the Maui gas field is slowly depleting. Much of the concern expressed publicly about the potential gas shortage has been initiated out of concern by major users about the uncertainty of supply and, more specifically, price after 2010.
Much of the comment has also confused the availability of gas in totality with the long-term availability of gas for the industrial, commercial and residential sectors of the market.
Despite the anticipated depletion of Maui, there is no threat to gas availability for commercial and residential use given it uses only a fraction of the gas that currently supplies New Zealand’s total energy supply needs. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has estimated that there is sufficient gas supply for domestic gas reticulation for the next 20 – 30 years.
The depletion of Maui has also meant an increase in gas exploration. By 2006 Todd and Shell are expecting to have a significant new gas field, Pohokura, on line. Other gas fields, such as Wairoa and Hupe have also been discovered and ‘capped’.
The government is encouraging exploration of these and other new gas fields with tax incentives and a $15 million package launched in June 2004 for seismic mapping and to attract more international exploration and production companies to New Zealand.