At last Wednesday night's special energy forum in New Plymouth, several speakers bemoaned the lack of purpose and direction being given by the government regarding energy matters.
"Energy is just too important to be left without coherent government energy policies," said Shell New Zealand EP commercial manager Peter Hazledine.
"The industry needs a more flexible royalty regime to extend the life of existing fields and to encourage the early development of new fields," said Todd Energy operations and technical manager Richard Crowe.
Meeting chairman Rodger Kerr-Newell agreed. "If you do not sort out the energy sector then you do not sort out the New Zealand economy," said Kerr-Newell, the New Plymouth District Council chief executive.
However, the speakers stopped short of endorsing Indo-Pacific Energy chief executive Dave Bennett's suggestion that the government again get directly involved in exploration, as it had done in the 1970s and 80s through Petrocorp. "Heaven forbid," said Crowe.
Bennett had said exploration levels in New Zealand were very low, except for onshore Taranaki, and that the industry was generally starved of exploration capital.
Genesis Power business development manager Bruce Cole and Powerco chief executive Steve Boulton also said new investment was desperately needed - in funding further exploration for gas and in upgrading electricity reticulation networks. Investment programs worth several billions of dollars would be needed over the next few years to prevent possible power blackouts, such as had occurred in North America earlier this month.
It is also now public knowledge that the Ministry of Economic Development is restructuring its Crown Minerals unit, which is responsible for managing the government's oil, gas and mineral estates. Though no final decisions have yet been made, commentators are warning against any downgrading of the role or function of Crown Minerals.
"While we may have disagreements over the implementation of some legislation, generally Crown Minerals have been doing a fine job and their activities should not be cut back," said one analyst recently.
Meanwhile, the Christchurch-based Centre for Advanced Engineering has released a report which says New Zealanders still take access to energy for granted, though the country is still vulnerable to supply shortages.
"The transition from Maui gas to alternative solutions will need to be managed assertively if New Zealand is to avoid energy shortfalls that would be potentially crippling to this country," says George Hooper, executive director of the Canterbury University-based centre.
"Despite plentiful primary energy sources, New Zealand remains vulnerable to the risks of shortages of consumer energy, including electricity and transport fuels. Industry and government need to work together to agree on a strategy to secure New Zealand's energy future," adds Hooper, who used to work for methanol manufacturer Methanex in Taranaki.
