Powering the oil and gas sector

The government’s planned repeal of the oil and gas exploration ban was not divisive, with some applauding it and others sharply criticizing it.

However, Newsroom’s Marc Daalder says it may not actually make any noticeable difference.

“It’s possible that the government has lifted the ban and new developers won’t come because they look at New Zealand and say, ‘Well, actually half the parties in parliament want to ban us from doing this, so if there’s an election and those parties win, we’re back to square one, so should we invest a significant amount of capital?”

In today’s episode Detailwe look primarily at how New Zealand implemented the 2018 ban, the current state of the oil and gas sector and the impact these changes may have.

John Carnegie, chief executive of Energy Resources Aotearoa, says oil and gas account for about half of New Zealand’s primary energy. Currently, all of New Zealand’s oil and gas fields are located in Taranaki or just off its coast. However, Carnegie says there are several areas in New Zealand where the industry believes there are oil and gas resources but are not allowed to be explored due to the 2018 ban.

“There were permits that were withheld off the Great South Basin, off the South Island, off the east coast of the North Island, but gradually all those permits were given back because, of course, with the ban, market conditions changed:”

Because the ban was a “huge change” and “unexpected”, it has become harder for oil and gas companies to invest in New Zealand.

Daalder questions this logic.

“The reality is that the fossil fuel sector and fossil fuel companies around the world see the writing on the wall: we no longer need fossil fuels. If not this year, then next year, and maybe the year after that, will be the period when global demand for fossil fuels, such as electricity, starts to peak,” he says.

“The International Energy Agency, which is not a very ambitious climate organization, published a scenario in 2021 on how to achieve net-zero energy systems and how to do it in a way that limits warming to 1.5 degrees (Celsius), the target global, but also a target in our Zero Carbon Act that the government must achieve. It turned out that the path did not include any new oil and gas deposits.

“The scientific evidence here is very solid – it has been confirmed in many different studies and all of them say that on a global scale we still need some gas, we still need some oil, and we even need some more coal. But we don’t have to look for new sources.

Amanda Thomas, a senior lecturer in environmental studies at the University of Victoria, says “the majority of the public wants… more serious action to address the climate crisis”, but laws introduced under the previous national government have made protests more dangerous.

“The new legislation establishes a consent process that excludes the public,” he says.

“In fact, (it) criminalized protests within 500 meters of search vessels – it fundamentally changed the rules on protests at sea.”

Still, he expects “an increase in direct action, as well as protests, motions and community meetings.”

“For some people, the stakes have become too high. If you have a young family or social responsibilities, the threat of financial penalties reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars is not very attractive. For other people, it was like a ‘red rag to the bull’ – if you’re going to limit our democratic right to protest… you can expect me to step into that space and assert my right to do those things.

Check how to listen and imitate Detail Here.

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