New Zealand Gives OMV Consent for Offshore Exploration Drilling

   By Stephen Wright

WELLINGTON, New Zealand--The Environmental Protection Agency has granted clearance for a unit of OMV AG (OMV.VI) to explore for oil and gas offshore southern New Zealand.

The proposed drilling program of 10 wells would only have a small and temporary effect on the environment, the agency said Tuesday.

OMV's plans in New Zealand have been vigorously opposed by environmental groups. Greenpeace said the approval for OMV was "deeply hypocritical" because New Zealand was recently championing its climate-change policies at a summit in Madrid.

New Zealand banned offshore oil-and-gas exploration in 2018 but the ban doesn't apply to permits issued before then, some of which are held by OMV.

The agency said New Zealand law specifically prohibits it from considering the effects of climate change when making decisions about activity in the country's waters.

Production drilling would require another clearance and public consultation.

Write to Stephen Wright at stephen.wright@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 17, 2019 00:34 ET (05:34 GMT)

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