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Greenpeace is sounding the alarm as Government minister Shane Jones extols the benefits of reversing the oil and gas exploration ban, including opening up “all acreage” of New Zealand for mining.

Jones, speaking at the Asia Pacific Energy Assembly in Singapore this week in his capacity as Resources and Associate Energy Minister, told attendees that reversing the ban would come with a new “open market application” process for companies seeking to mine the country’s resources.

He explained the change meant “all acreage is open for application” and not restricted to certain areas determined by the Government.

Before the 2018 ban that confined any mining to the Taranaki region, exploration permits were allocated through the “block offer” process, through which the Government selected possible areas for mining based on their prospectivity and commercial interest, which companies could then bid for.

In his speech, Jones acknowledged his ongoing advocacy for increased mining activity around the South Island’s West Coast while encouraging companies to think further afield.

“Although there is still much to do on the West Coast, we don’t want you to constrain your thinking to just that part of our beautiful country,” he said.

“New Zealand has frontier offshore basins off the east coast of both islands. We have the East Coast basin, Canterbury basin, and the Great South Basin.

“For these, there are existing open geodata sets with our regulators and companies such as SLB, here with us, who have still confidential commercial exploration data available to you.”

Jones also noted the Government’s decision in Budget 2025 to set aside $200 million to co-invest in domestic mining projects, saying it would be “business case-based with a likely government stake of up to 15% for each successful project”.

“Having skin in the game as a cornerstone investor demonstrates our own commitment to meeting our future gas needs,” Jones said.

“If we really want to address the current reality that we rely on imported coal, not domestic gas, to get through winter, we must be prepared to stand alongside our petroleum sector as a co-investor.”

Greenpeace spokesperson Gen Toop condemned the change to the application process and warned it risked turning New Zealand into a “free-for-all” for the oil and gas industry.

“Ending the oil and gas exploration ban was bad enough – but this entirely new free-for-all approach could see multinational oil corporations carrying out risky deep-sea drilling anywhere in New Zealand’s oceans.

“Opening up all of New Zealand’s ocean and land to oil and gas exploration is reckless – it flies in the face of what the science says is needed to avoid climate catastrophe.”

Jones, through a statement, told the Herald a permit would grant the right to explore or mine, but it would not grant environmental consents, meaning a resource consent was required.