- Hon Shane Jones
Resources Minister Shane Jones has hailed the granting of a petroleum exploration consent to Greymouth Gas Turangi through Block Offer 2020.
"This is yet another step taken in New Zealand's journey back to resilience, taking advantage of the natural bounty of our country to create jobs and boost regional and national economic development," Mr Jones says.
"The Coalition Government will reinstate the permitting of new petroleum exploration and rebuild confidence that New Zealand is an attractive and reliable option for investors.
"I will be introducing a bill later this year that will overturn the previous government's ban on new permits for petroleum exploration beyond the onshore Taranaki region."
Greymouth Gas Turangi has been granted a permit for a 61.9 sq km area northwest of Stratford in Taranaki for a period of 10 years.
The permit allows the holder to search for Crown-owned reserves of oil and gas in the area set down.
