Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi
The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
Story copyright © Carbon News 2025
Govt finalises geothermal strategy and commits to $50m boost
Thu 19 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has launched a plan to grow geothermal energy and committed a further $50 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to support early-stage projects and drive expansion of the sector.
LNG sold as insurance, but modelling points to a bigger role
Thu 19 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s gas market is heading for a sharp contraction whether the country sticks with domestic supply alone or introduces liquefied natural gas imports.
Oil shock tests Government’s balancing act
Tue 17 Mar 2026
The Government is trying to show it is on top of fuel security risk without giving the impression New Zealand is heading for a shortage.
Mayor stands by comments over AI factory cable
Tue 17 Mar 2026
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Invercargill mayor Tom Campbell is standing by his view that a new cable for a large AI data factory will not impact the environment at Ōreti Beach, despite a report saying otherwise.
'Power-hungry' AI data centre could push up electricity prices
Mon 16 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A proposed AI-focused data centre in Southland could become New Zealand’s second-largest electricity user, raising concerns it may drive up power prices and complicate efforts to decarbonise the national grid.
Renewables surge cuts power emissions, but oil dominates fossil fuel use
13 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s fossil fuel emissions fell in 2025 as strong renewable electricity generation reduced the need for gas-fired power, but oil consumption is rising and now accounts for a record share of fossil emissions.
Todd gets nod to drill first super-critical geothermal well
12 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Todd Energy is to make its sole oil drilling rig available to drill the first exploration well under the government’s $60 million super-critical geothermal resource exploration programme under a ‘preferred supplier’ agreement announced yesterday.
Japan eyes New Zealand as green hydrogen export hub
12 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A new partnership between major Japanese companies aims to explore exporting green hydrogen from New Zealand – but the economics of producing the energy-hungry fuel remain the biggest hurdle.
Methanex: a gauge of NZ’s gas decline
12 Mar 2026
Methanex’s latest earnings call offered a blunt reminder that the company’s shrinking New Zealand business is now less a stand-alone corporate story than a barometer of the country’s broader gas decline.
Upton on LNG: don’t make electricity consumers subsidise industrial gas
11 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Industrial gas users will be subsidised by electricity consumers unless they are also charged for access to the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, says.
