Reversal of ban on oil and gas exploration in New Zealand officially takes effect
On 31 July, New Zealand’s parliament passed legislation to reopen the country for offshore oil and gas exploration, reversing a ban previously imposed by the government of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2018.
The Crown Mineral Amendments Act, which went into effect on 5 August, will allow companies to apply for petroleum exploration permits beyond onshore Taranaki, on the country’s North Island, as early as September.
The act changes language from the original Crown Minerals Act of 1991 about the government’s role in petroleum exploration and production. The 1991 act directed the government to “manage prospecting, exploration and mining of minerals.” This has been amended to “promote prospecting, exploration and mining of minerals.”
It also gives the government authority to “attract permit applications.” Previously, permit applications could only be allocated by public tender.
In its statement outlining the changes to the act, the government said the amendment shows its intent to encourage petroleum exploration in the country: “Oil and natural gas help ensure energy security and affordability by assisting during peak electricity demand when electricity generation from renewable resources is not enough. To sustain current levels of natural gas use, New Zealand needs to invest in getting the most out of our existing fields and in exploring new fields.”
Click here to see the changes made in the Crown Minerals Amendments Act.
NSTA urges operators to act quickly on decommissioning
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) recently highlighted that there is a backlog of more than 500 wells that missed their decommissioning deadline. Further, the figure could grow considerably – with more than 1,000 additional wells expected to be due for decommissioning between 2026 and 2030 – according to the NSTA’s 2025 Decommissioning Cost and Performance Update.
By law, operators must decommission oil and gas infrastructure, including permanently inactive wells. Some companies are showing good performance in decommissioning wells that have permanently stopped producing. However, the NSTA said it believes not all operators have been awarding well decommissioning contracts quickly enough or on a sufficient scale. This could lead rig owners to look for work opportunities for their rigs in other markets in hope of securing longer deals and at higher dayrates than in the UK.
Wells are decommissioned in stages as different types of vessels and equipment are needed to carry out specific jobs. In 2024, operators carried out some form of decommissioning work on 223 wells, progressing 103 of those to final abandonment status. However, approximately 300 need to be fully decommissioned annually to clear the existing backlog and the 1,000 additional wells that are due to become inactive by 2030.
The NSTA has developed an initial plan to show operators how well decommissioning activities could be sequenced in the hopes that the industry will use the information to set up well decommissioning campaigns.
Click here to read the NSTA’s 2025 decommissioning update.
EPA pushes implementation deadline for new rules on oil and gas methane emissions
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it will delay for 18 months the implementation of new limits on methane emissions from oil and gas development. A previous rule instituted under the administration of former President Joe Biden implemented a deadline to install methane control devices, continuous monitoring and lead detection equipment, and comply with leak repair and emissions requirements.
The previous rule, initially finalized in March 2024, had given a deadline of 7 May 2025 for compliance. However, the EPA announced in May its plans to extend the deadline, without giving a specific extension date.
The agency said the delay was made in response to “legitimate concerns, raised by stakeholders, that certain regulatory provisions are not currently workable or contain problematic regulatory language that frustrates compliance.”
The agency also said the extended dates would “provide affected facilities sufficient lead time to retrofit sources and to plan and execute the performance tests required by the final rule.”
Click here to read about the EPA’s deadline extension for methane rule implementation.
Norway eyes potential new round of oil and gas licensing
In a post to social media on 7 August, Norway’s Energy Minister Terje Aasland said the country is preparing to launch a new oil and gas licensing round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This would be the country’s first offer of new drilling permits in unexplored regions in four years.
“The activity on the Norwegian Continental Shelf provides both energy and welfare. We will continue to do so for a long time to come. We will be proud of the work Norwegian oil workers do, and we will continue to manage natural resources for the best interests of the community,” Mr Aasland said in the post.
It is not known when the awards would be made. The Norwegian government had previously agreed to a four-year moratorium on frontier exploration in 2021.
