How the energy industry can boost Government’s economic plans

Careful changes to regulations could help New Zealand’s oil and gas industry earn increased royalties for the Government and aid the rebuild of our economy, according to the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ).

“With the Government’s focus on rebuilding the economy in this year’s Budget, our industry can play a major role if we have the right settings,” says PEPANZ Chief Executive John Carnegie.

“Our industry earns the Government on average around $600 million in taxes and royalties per year. There is real potential to grow this and help ease the pressure on the Government’s finances.

“We’re proposing some regulatory changes that would achieve this by producing more of our own domestic energy.”

These could include:

• An enabling regime for carbon capture storage technology to be used in New Zealand
• RMA reform that doesn’t expand the role of local councils into assessing the climate change implications of projects (this should remain the role of central Government)
• Flexibility for existing exploration and production permits 
• Workable rules for new decommissioning requirements

“The energy our sector produces will be vital to powering the export industries that will lead our recovery, such as food production. We think it makes sense for this energy to be New Zealand made.”