New discoveries needed to avoid natural gas shortfall

New figures showing eleven years of natural gas reserves emphasises the importance of new exploration and development, says Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ) CEO Cameron Madgwick.

“Natural gas provides 21% of New Zealand’s energy and around 400,000 New Zealand homes, schools, hospitals and businesses rely on natural gas. It provides energy for cooking, heating and hot showers and powers many of our factories and industries.

“It’s also helping us transition to a lower carbon world. Natural gas has half the emissions of coal, and it enables renewable electricity by providing a crucial back-up at the flick of a switch.

“This means that new exploration and development is crucial. Potential work on the Maui field and around the South Island will be very important for New Zealand’s energy future.

“A strong supply of New Zealand natural gas means we could reduce the amount of coal we burn, keep electricity prices down and avoid the need to import LNG from Australia.

“This is confirmed by data also released today showing coal-fired electricity generation in the first quarter of 2019 jumped 138% from the same period last year due to a temporary constraint in natural gas supply.” 

The new petroleum reserves data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment are available here.