Government puts $40.5 million towards two gas exploration projects
The New Zealand government is investing $40.5 million into two gas exploration projects to secure energy supplies. The funding supports AI-backed seismic modeling and offshore exploration, despite legal requirements to consider climate impacts.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between energy security needs and climate change policy in national governance.
The government is putting $40.5 million towards two gas exploration projects, from the government's $200m gas exploration fund.
The funding includes $14.5m to contract Schlumberger New Zealand to provide companies with free access to AI-backed 3d seismic modelling data for the Taranaki, East Coast, and Great South basins over two years; and $21.5m for EnZed Energy's Kaheru project exploring for recoverable gas offshore from Taranaki.
Resources Minister Shane Jones said the projects would help secure New Zealand's ongoing energy needs.
He said the Schlumberger project would make it easier to access and interpret basin-scale data in an industry-standard format which would be "very attractive to international exploration companies deciding where to put their money and effort".
The datasets would be available for free to potential explorers for two years.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in