By Arpan Mukherjee
WELLINGTON--The New Zealand government said Tuesday that it has
awarded 10 oil & gas exploration permits to local and overseas
companies who had bid in Block Offer 2012.
"Strong interest in the Block Offer 2012 permitting round proves
that New Zealand is a key destination for both domestic and
international investment in oil and gas exploration," Energy and
Resources Minister Phil Heatley said in a statement.
Among the companies that have won permits are Anadarko Petroleum
Corp. (APC), OMV New Zealand, which is part of OMV AG (OMV.VI), New
Zealand Oil & Gas (NZO.NZ), Shell New Zealand, Todd
Exploration, Cue Taranaki, Tag Oil (TAO.T) and New Zealand Energy
Corp (NZ.V).
Seven of the 10 blocks are in the Taranaki basin, on the west
coast of the country's North Island and the most active oil and gas
producing basin. Of the rest, two are in the Pegasus basin on the
south of the North Island and one is in the Great South Basin, on
the south of the country's South Island.
Write to Arpan Mukherjee at arpan.mukherjee@wsj.com
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