December 16, 2015
Exploration permits seen as threat to climate
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Climate Justice Taranaki says the government’s latest block offer shows it may be the beginning of the end for extreme oil.
All nine new oil and gas exploration permits announced yesterday went to Taranaki or the offshore Taranaki Basin.
Climate Justice member Catherine Cheung says there was minimal uptake of the offer, reflecting not only the low global oil prices but growing public resistance.
She says the timing of the offer just after the Paris climate summit was a massive display of hypocrisy by the National Government a represented a fresh threat to the marine environment.
Another member, Emily Bailey, says the three onshore permits went to Petrochem, a subsidiary of Greymouth Petroleum, which has previously breached its resource consents and is in court against Heritage NZ and Otaraua hapu for wanting to drill at the grave site of paramount chief Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitaake.
The six offshore permits went to OMV, Todd Energy and Mont D’Or Resources.
Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges says the permits include a committed work programme expenditure of $4.4 million, with the potential of more than $364 million if all contingent work is realised.
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