October 2019

Petroleum Conference a major success

The 2019 Petroleum Conference was a major success with over 200 delegates attending the event in Queenstown last week. Guest speakers included:

Hon Dr Megan Woods, Minister of Energy and Resources (via video)
New Zealand industry leader's address by Andrew Jefferies, CEO New Zealand Oil & Gas
International address "The future is not what it used to be" by Chris Graham, Vice President Wood Mackenzie
Cam Hosie from 8 Rivers on the proposed Allam cycle development in Taranaki
Paul Rangiwahia: the need for a 'mental warrant of fitness' and responding to change

Delegates also enjoyed social events, a commercial forum and gala dinner. A very small number of protesters demonstrated outside but had no impact on proceedings.

Presentations and pictures from the event will be available on the conference website shortly.

New PEPANZ CEO announced

PEPANZ is delighted to announce the appointment of John Carnegie as its new Chief Executive Officer.

John is currently the Executive Director of the BusinessNZ Energy Council with nearly three decades experience in public policy and energy markets, specialising in energy, climate change and resource management policy.

“I’m excited about this role and look forward to being a strong, collaborative advocate for the industry,” he says.

Farewell from Cameron

"Today is my last day as Chief Executive Officer of PEPANZ. It has been an incredibly rewarding five years, comprised of many highs, lows, successes and challenges.

"While tempting to go in to the detail of those, I won’t because I know that in time those will seem less important but that what will endure are the relationships I have formed with the amazing people in the sector.

"All of you are striving every day in your own way to make things better. Whether you are in the industry directly, service it, support it or regulate it – thank you. Thank you for all of your efforts and amazing work."

Read the full publication

PEPANZ Policy platform launched

PEPANZ has published a policy plan for how our industry can deliver major economic, environmental and social benefits for New Zealanders.

It includes a proposal for a dedicated fund to invest the public proceeds from new oil and gas developments, currently worth around $500 million per year on average but with potential to be much higher.

The plan recommends legislation is introduced to specifically allow Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology to be used in New Zealand. It also calls for a comprehensive ETS applying to all sectors and gases, including agriculture and methane.

We will be promoting these policies to political parties and stakeholders ahead of next year's election.

Petroleum Conference Award winners announced

Beach Energy and Todd Energy have been named the winners at this year’s New Zealand Petroleum Conference Awards.

Beach Energy won the Excellence in Community Partnership and Engagement category for their programme "It's time to talk Taranaki". This is a unique community wellbeing collaboration between Beach Energy and local artist Paul Rangiwahia which has reached more than 3000 people.

Todd Energy were winners in the Outstanding Innovation in Oil and Gas category for their initiative to reduce flaring, which has greatly reduced emissions and impacts on their neighbours.

Dr Mac Beggs was announced as the newest member of the PEPANZ Hall of Fame after being elected by members.

He is a former manager of petroleum geoscience research with GNS Science, co-founder and general manager of New Zealand exploration consultancy GeoSphere, and exploration manager for New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. He is also a former Deputy Chair of PEPANZ.

Congratulations to the other nominees for the PEPANZ Hall of Fame: Phil Dickey, Jim Seymour and Bob Waugh.

More details on the 2019 winners

Crown Mineral Act reform

The Government has outlined a major review into how New Zealand's petroleum resources are allocated and managed.

A Cabinet Paper setting out proposed terms of reference for a review of the Crown Minerals Act has been publicly released. Some of the issues to be considered include:

Changing or removing the Government's responsibility to "promote" development of petroleum resources
Reconsidering rules around offshore protests
Decommissioning requirements
Rethinking whether the Block Offer process is the best allocation method for permits.

A public discussion document is scheduled to be released very soon for public consultation.

Read our column on Energy News

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