Oil drillers hope for April start

Corey Charlton | Friday, December 16, 2011 5:00

GOING DOWN: Discovery of oil in commercial quantities in Hawke's Bay would be a major geographical shift in an industry that has been centred on operations in Taranaki (left). PHOTO/FILE

TAG and Apache, the two North American companies with oil exploration permits in Hawke's Bay hope to begin drilling in April next year, and it is yet to be determined if they will require publicly notified consent.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council compliance and pollution response manager Bryce Lawrence gave a verbal presentation on how the process worked at the Hawke's Bay Regional Council (HBRC) meeting yesterday.

He said it was still unclear whether TAG and Apache would need notified consents before the next stage of drilling began.

"Notified is one of the biggest questions we've got. We're pushing them, telling them to get some more advice, whether it can be publicly notified or not."

He said he would prefer "not to get into it too much", because they were yet to know exactly what TAG and Apache's needs are.

The two oil companies have not ruled out using hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, where high pressure fluids are used deep underground to break hard rock.

They were awarded the contract by central government, but it is the HBRC's job to manage the effects of the process, where the sites fall under HBRC jurisdiction.

One is in central Hawke's Bay falling on the boundary of HBRC and Horizon Regional Council areas. The other borders the Gisborne District.

Seismic surveying is to start in January. After that, drilling would begin in April.

1500 to 2000 metre holes are drilled, which are divided into layers the deeper they go with each layer filled and separated by concrete, in an attempt to minimise risks.

Mr Lawrence said higher risks were associated with shallow drilling wells. The wells considered for Hawke's Bay were expected to be deep, and there would be contingency plans put in place.

"My observation to date is fracking is one small part of it. That risk is lower than we're seeing in the media."

Mr Lawrence said TAG and Apache were well aware of the need to educate the public.

Among the possible activities that would require consent are water use, flaring consent, and well construction.

Councillor Tim Gilbertson suggested the issue "may well be the issue of drilling for oil, rather than the issue of fracking."

There will be a TAG/Apache presentation on the process to the HBRC early next year.