NZ: Ready and waiting for the oil boom

The arrival of oil and gas prospectors in the deep south has raised hopes of an energy boom for the Mainland. MARTIN VAN BEYNEN looks at what might lie in store for the South Island if the prospects come through.

In 1971, the North Sea coast city of Aberdeen was the main centre of the fishing industry in Scotland. It is now the energy capital of Europe. In 1969, New Plymouth was a hick cow town. In 2007, it is a vibrant, cosmopolitan place with a buoyant economy and exporting its expertise to the world.
[…]Canny says Southland is no newcomer to big projects (including the Manapouri hydro scheme and the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter) and has the infrastructure to handle whatever the next 10 years brings. If it needs any more, it will build it.

Perhaps the biggest challenge will be finding skilled labour. Over the next 10 years Southland needs an estimated 18,500 extra skilled workers.

Neither is Canny worried about straining local resources. An increased critical mass “will make everything work better”, he says.

“It’s not as though we are trying to place a whole lot of people into a community that is bursting at the seams.”

Any oil bonanza is still some time away. In the next two or three years seismic testing will continue. An exploration rig is not expected in the region until 2009. Even if the drilling strikes oil or gas in economic quantities, production from the wells might not start for 10 to 12 years.

Wherever Southland, and to a lesser extent, Otago and Canterbury, are destined to go, other parts of the world have already been.

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