Originally Posted by
Odd Fellow
Hi Group,
I am new here and try to find my way around.
I wonder has this Trading halt of Securities any things to do
with the announcement from the NZ Government.
Cheers.
New Zealand unveils seismic investment
The New Zealand government said today it will invest NZ$20 million (US$12 million) over three years in the acquisition of marine seismic data to make freely available to oil and gas explorers.
Energy minister Gerry Brownlee said the NZ$20 million funding meets the National Party-led government's pre-election policy promise for seismic work.
"The international oil exploration industry is showing increasing interest in New Zealand following initiatives to make new data freely available to companies wishing to explore here," said Brownlee.
"This has translated into increased exploration expenditure and activities across frontier basins that have historically struggled to attract investment."
"At this time of uncertainty in international financial markets, as well as the fall in oil prices, it is important for the government to maintain interest in New Zealand," added Brownlee.
The oil and gas association Pepanz welcomed the injection of money, saying the investment continued a programme that had operated for the past four years.
“Researching our frontier sedimentary basins is an important step toward discovering new resources, and has the capacity to reduce the risk for exploration companies by better defining the subsurface geology before they bid for acerage” said Pepanz executive officer John Pfahlert.
Two licensing rounds are under way in the country's offshore frontier Raukumara and Northland basins. Both areas were the subject of seismic investment by the previous government.