Petroleum Reserves data released
Details of New Zealand’s petroleum reserves as at the beginning of 2021 have been released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE).
The data, compiled from assessments of permit holders’ annual summary reports, shows a 2.6% increase in proved plus probable (2P) gas reserves estimates over the past year.
Gas reserves stood at 2,074 Petajoules (PJ) at 1 January 2021 up from 2,021PJ a year earlier which equates to approximately 10 years of gas supply remaining based on recent demand.
The increase was driven by a 151PJ upgrade in reserve estimates at Maui and 86PJ at Turangi while there was a 56PJ downgrade in estimates at Pohokura.
Susan Baas, national petroleum and minerals manager, says: “The country’s petroleum reserves can vary from year to year. Ongoing analysis of data can lead to revisions of estimates as can other technical factors. Commercial factors such as changes in commodity prices and decisions to invest in further field development can also cause reserves estimates to be revised.
“The annual revisions of petroleum reserves help to provide insights for industry to assist with development and investment decisions,” says Baas.
The data includes oil and gas production profiles, remaining reserves and contingent resources.
Petroleum reserves data – MBIE website
The Energy in New Zealand 2021 publication, due to be published in August, will include the full range of statistics for the 2020 year.
Note: Petroleum reserves are summary statistics based on reporting from permit and licence holders. These holders are required to report oil, gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) reserves information every year under the Crown Minerals Act 1991.