Report shows job growth in oil and gas industry

Petroleum Exploration and Production Association CEO Cameron Madgwick, today welcomed the release of Venture Taranaki’s report “Wealth Beneath Our Feet – The Next steps” which shows a major growth in the number of Kiwi’s employed in New Zealand’s oil and gas sector.

“The report released today shows that the number of jobs created by the oil and gas industry has increased from 7,700 in 2010 to 11,720 jobs in 2014. That is more than an extra 4,000 jobs.

“The report also shows our contribution, as a sector, to the financial well-being of our country has increased from $2.5 billion to GDP in 2010, to almost $2.8 billion to GDP for the 2014 year.

“New Zealand holds a vast amount of petroleum potential. Over the last 4 years we have seen more interest from overseas companies, more investment and as a result have created more jobs and wealth for New Zealand.

“As an industry we still believe we have more to contribute and we are aware as we continue to grow we need to do so responsibly. We still have work to do to engage with the communities we operate in, to provide factual, reasonable information about our industry and to encourage a mature conversation about New Zealand’s energy future.

“If the findings of Venture Taranaki’s “Wealth Beneath Our Feet – The Next Steps” are anything to go by – further responsible growth of the industry could create busy towns up and down our country, more high paying jobs and wealthier communities. All we have to do is look to the wealth that lies beneath our feet.

“I congratulate Venture Taranaki on providing a factual, informative and well researched report,” said Cameron Madgwick, CEO, PEPANZ.