Kowhai discovery boosts industry - Minister

The security of New Zealand's natural gas supply has been strengthened by Greymouth Petroleum's discovery of the Kowhai field, Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said today.

The Kowhai field, on the North Taranaki peninsula, is predicted to yield 134 petajoules of gas and 3.2 million barrels of condensate.

"This is a significant discovery and one which will have flow-on benefits for the economy and consumers alike," says Mr Brownlee.

"Not only does the Kowhai field boost the country's gas supply, it brings more competition to the market - meaning downward pressure on prices."

Mr Brownlee says the Kowhai discovery is timely, given the government's drive towards unleashing the country's untapped petroleum resources.

"This new field is likely to be just a part of Taranaki and New Zealand's sizeable on-shore gas reserves. Opening these up lessens the prospect of our becoming reliant on expensive, imported gas.

"In addition, this summer will see the implementation of the country's most intensive seismic surveying initiative to date. It's part of our programme to improve our knowledge of petroleum assets, and will help boost the sector."

The Kowhai field is expected to be on-stream by March.