Earlier this week, a wide range of Dunedin businesses attached their logos to full-page newspaper advertisements as a show of support to welcome international company Anadarko to our city.
The Otago Chamber of Commerce co-ordinated the two-page advertisement in the Otago Daily Times and is proud to have done so.
We acknowledge steps need to be taken by central Government and the oil and gas companies to minimise the risk to our environment.
However, this is only one part of the equation. For us, and a majority of our members, Anadarko's potential investment in Dunedin isn't just about the oil and gas industry.
High-paying jobs for our city.
Secondary and tertiary jobs, including new technologies and innovation flowing on from one company's investment, and increased jobs and profits for existing businesses.
The facts are simple.
New Zealand's oil and gas industry is currently based in Taranaki.
If you compare Taranaki and Otago currently, you'll find we have a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for full-time-equivalent employees of $86,000.
That's about 90% of the New Zealand average.
Taranaki has a GDP that is 125% of that average.
The oil and gas sector in Taranaki directly employs 3560 full-time equivalents in both the producing organisations and those associated with them, and creates a contribution of $2 billion to the region.
The chamber believes that if the Dunedin economy could attract even a proportion of the jobs and population growth that Taranaki has enjoyed, the whole city would reap positive benefits.
These include highly skilled expats who want to return to New Zealand and New Zealand-based service organisations.
It's important to recognise that in the production sector, Dunedin has a historic and ongoing problem with job losses.
The reason our population hasn't suffered so far is due to growth in the service sector - health and education.
That growth isn't sustainable - Dunedin needs to grow jobs in other areas and has just approved an economic development strategy that aims to achieve just that.
Job creation through attracting new industries from organisations such as Anadarko fits in with that strategy.
With respect to the environment, new legislation has just been passed (The Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012 (12/72)) and oil and gas companies will have to demonstrate that they can comply and thereby convince the Government they have appropriate mechanisms in place to minimise risk to our shoreline and wildlife.
We disagree with the opinion that an operation based in Dunedin will decimate our tourism industry. People haven't stopped visiting Aberdeen since it became an oil base.
Dunedin isn't being asked to choose between tourism and the gas industry.
It's being asked to support a company that will potentially bring more jobs and a new industry with growth and spin-off potential.
There are, of course, no guarantees that Anadarko will choose Dunedin as a base for its offshore operations. Or that it will strike the gas it is looking for off the coast of Otago in its investigation of the Lower Canterbury Basin, 65km northeast of Dunedin.
We and our local authorities have limited influence over such factors, and we expect central Government to satisfy its responsibility in respect of the environment.
What we can do is say: "Welcome. We'd like more jobs and the benefits you can bring our city."
Local businesses did just that on Monday this week.
Many more would have joined them, had time allowed.
We all believe we are supporting a proposal that has the potential to revitalise Dunedin's economic base, and would ask our citizens to keep an open mind at this early stage as to the risks and rewards.
• Peter McIntyre is the president of the Otago Chamber of Commerce.
