New Zealand Grants New 10 Year Oil and Gas Production Permit in Taranaki

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZP&M), the country's petroleum and mining regulator, said on Thursday, August 13, 2026 (22 Mordad 1405), according to Oilprice.com, that it has granted Matahio NZ Onshore Limited a 10 year petroleum mining permit in the onshore Taranaki region for the Puka field, discovered in 2012; the permit area also includes the Oru exploration prospect. New Zealand Resources Minister Shane Jones said the permit would bring additional natural gas to the domestic market over the next decade and generate export earnings from new oil production.

Matahio estimates recoverable reserves at the Puka discovery at about 170,000 barrels of oil and 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas, while an independent assessment of the Oru prospect puts prospective resources at 1.8 million barrels of oil and 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas. Minister Jones said that with New Zealand's gas reserves declining, every new source helps secure the country's energy supply; the permit follows the country's first offshore oil and gas exploration license, awarded earlier this year after the previous government's drilling ban was lifted.