June 2019
PEPANZ CEO on the move
PEPANZ CEO Cameron Madgwick will be departing for a new role later this year after five years in the position.
Cameron has accepted the position of CEO at law firm Gibson Sheat and expects to finish at PEPANZ in the last quarter of 2019.
"My decision to step down has not been an easy one," he says.
"It has been my privilege to work closely with the many of the amazing people within the industry. I will miss the professionalism, camaraderie and humour that have been hallmarks of these last five years working with you all."
Chevron and Equinor leaving New Zealand
PEPANZ members Chevron and Equinor have announced they are ending their exploration efforts and exiting New Zealand.
According to Chevron "the Joint Ventures decision to withdraw from these permits is based on portfolio alignment considerations and not policy or regulatory concerns."
The acreage covers over 25,000 square kilometres and was granted in 2014.
Good news on tax exemption
An important five-year tax exemption for offshore vessels and rigs has been renewed by Parliament last week.
PEPANZ advocated for this provision which avoids creating an artificial incentive for vessels to leave New Zealand and be replaced before the threshold of 183 days expires.
The provision avoids this expensive and time consuming outcome, as well as eliminating transport emissions from remobilising rigs.
New insurance rules proposed
The Government is proposing an increase to the maximum level of insurance required by offshore oil and gas operators.
The proposed changes are to the Maritime Transport Act and Marine Protection Rules.
According to the information released by Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter there are no current operators who would require coverage at the proposed highest level of $1.2 billion.
However PEPANZ is seeking the facts and evidence behind this higher limit, and to ensure cover will be available on market standard terms.
New gas reserves data released
New Government figures have been released showing eleven years of natural gas reserves remaining at current levels of demand.
The annual petroleum reserves data were released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and are defined as "quantities that are commercially recoverable at 1 January 2019."
Energy Voices update
The Energy Voices campaign has started a new and revitalised phase, focusing on the importance of natural gas to the cost of living and quality of life for New Zealanders.
We’ll be explaining how it lowers the cost of electricity and provides the energy for cooking, heating, hot showers, as well as powering many of our factories and industries.
This is the story we’ll be telling to New Zealanders for the rest of 2019 and we’d really appreciate your support. If you haven’t already, please follow, like and share Energy Voices' content on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, or visit our website.
COSL Prospector arrives in NZ
The COSL Prospector rig has arrived in Taranaki this month, ready to start work on the Tui field on behalf of Tamarind Resources.
The vessel is the size of a rugby field and has travelled to New Zealand from Norway under its own propulsion. Ultimately there will be around 130 people working in two shifts on the rig and approximately 80 of these will be local New Zealand workers.
Petroleum Conference programme announced
The programme for the 2019 New Zealand Petroleum Conference has just been released and is available here.
An exciting and high quality line-up of speakers has been unveiled, including:
- Megan Woods, Minister of Energy and Resources
- Andrew Jefferies, CEO New Zealand Oil & Gas
- Chris Graham, Vice President Wood Mackenzie
- John Kidd, Head of Research for Enerlytica
- Laurence Kubiak, CEO of NZIER
More keynote speakers will be announced in coming weeks.
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