New Zealand's Gas Reserves Drop

New Zealand’s natural gas reserves have declined by 5% over the past year, said country's ministry of business innovation and employment (MBIE) May 21.

Gas reserves, defined as quantities that are commercially recoverable, stood at 1,985 petajoules as on January 1, 2018. It represents around 10.5 years of demand at 2017 demand levels, the ministry said.

The main driver of the decline is a 27.2% decrease in gas reserves at the Pohokura field located 4 km offshore of north Taranaki , while gas reserves at Mangahewa increased by 44.5%. Mangahewa is an onshore gas field located in the northern part of the Taranaki.

“The data is typically made available as part of MBIE’s yearly Energy in New Zealand publication released each September, but a decision was made to bring forward its release to help inform debate around the status of the country’s petroleum reserves,” Josh Adams, national petroleum manager, said.

This news comes just weeks after government’s announcement in April to halt the granting of any new offshore oil and gas exploration permits.