Successful marine consent for the Māui natural gas field offshore activities
The Māui natural gas field off the South Taranaki coast has been operating since 1979 and supplied the majority of New Zealand’s natural gas, powering businesses and homes. The transitional provisions of the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012 (EEZ Act) required Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS) to obtain marine consent to continue undertaking existing natural gas and gas condensate production activities and proposed new activities associated with these operations in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Boffa Miskell was part of a large team who supported Shell Todd Oil Services Limited in the re-consenting process.
Our role was to assess the application from a planning perspective within the legislative framework of the Exclusive Economic Zone Act. This included preparation of expert evidence, attendance at expert conferencing and presenting planning evidence at the hearing before the Committee appointed by the Environmental Protection Agency.