New Zealand's oil and gas, and minerals sectors are again to the fore of Government economic thinking, with the release of an inaugural combined report on the contentious sectors yesterday.
The Government is considering a new nine-month time limit for giving consent for ''projects of national significance'' - a politically charged and debatable area.
While there is a groundswell of concern from environmentalists and the public over deep-sea drilling and onshore fracking practices, and how resource consents for both are processed, the Government has signalled the dual sectors remain ''fundamental'' to the country's economy.
Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges in Wellington yesterday released the 158-page ''Petroleum and Minerals Sector Report'', which outlined how, during the past 10 years, employment in the sectors has more than doubled and exports tripled.
There had been low-key talk of the report last week at the New Zealand branch meeting of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in Nelson, but Mr Bridges gave no public hint of its forthcoming release.
Mr Bridges said the petroleum and minerals sectors produced commodities ''fundamental to the economy'', for energy from oil, gas and coal; steel; gold and silver; fertiliser; and rock, sand and gravel for construction and roads.
The offshore Great South Basin surrounding Otago and Southland is likely to have Anadarko drilling off the coast next January, and possibly Shell the following summer, in one-hole deep-water test drilling programmes, possibly worth $NZ129 million each, but of only small financial benefit to Otago.
Mr Bridges said the forthcoming oil and gas exploration programme
this summer would be one of the largest on record in New Zealand, with 13 exploratory wells being drilled offshore and 27 onshore.
''The industry is expected to spend $600 million to $755 million,'' he said.
The report outlined ''significant'' but unspecified Government investment in collating geophysical data to attract explorers, and a new competitive system for releasing oil and gas permits.
Of most public interest will be rules on the consent process, with the Government ''speeding up'' and setting time limits on the process under the Resource Management Act.
The report comes on the heels of last week's announcement by Minister for the Environment Amy Adams who wants to introduce a new non-notified discretionary classification for marine consents; meaning the Marine Legislation Bill would transfer regulations governing dumping and other discharges from the jurisdiction of Maritime New Zealand to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA oversees regulations from 12 nautical miles offshore to the 200-mile limit of New Zealand's exclusive economic zone.
Labour's Maryan Street said not notifying the public would deprive New Zealanders of the right to challenge deep-sea oil and gas exploration, highlighted by the Rena grounding and oil spill and the Deepwater Horizon platform disaster in the US in the Gulf of Mexico, in April 2010.
''Amy Adams' latest proposed changes mean the public will not be allowed to have their say on activities such as oil and gas exploration, discharges of harmful substances and dumping of waste in the exclusive economic zone,'' Ms Street said.
