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A new tending system the government unveiled in late August is helping spur interest among major oil and gas players in developing fields offshore New Zealand, the director of petroleum at the Ministry of Economic Development said Thursday.

Demand for exploration permits--both near producing fields and in other areas--is strong, Kevin Rolens told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of an Oil and Gas Forum in New Plymouth, an oil center on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.

"People are interested--certainly having Shell announce their plans in the great south and Apache's announcement just 10 days ago on the east coast are very positive signs for us," Rolens said.

Representatives from major oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB), OMV AG (OMV.VI, OMVKY) and Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR) are all attending the New Plymouth forum, he noted.

Apache Corp. (APA) has signed a deal with Canadian oil and gas producer TAG Oil Ltd. (TAO.T) to explore more than 400,000 hectares off the east coast of New Zealand's North Island near an area where Petrobras has begun preliminary exploration. Shell has purchased a 50% stake in an OMV venture to explore oil and gas prospects in the Great Southern Basin off the coast of New Zealand's South Island.

The New Zealand government released a report last month detailing plans to increase production of oil and gas in the island nation that envisages the country becoming a net exporter of oil by 2030. Crude oil was the country's fourth-largest export last year, and the government hopes expanding the scope of development will increase revenue from the sector.

The introduction of annual tenders for exploration permits around the country will help make New Zealand a an attractive destination for oil and gas exploration, Rolens said..

"We will have an informed block offer; it will be annual; it will be one where companies will be asked, 'Where do you want to work?' and we will then select the blocks," he said.

Last year, New Zealand produced around 19 million barrels, or 380,000 barrels a day, of oil at the Taranaki basin, and New Zealand's geological composition suggests strong potential for other oil and gas reserves to exist elsewhere off the coast of New Zealand.

"They [the oil majors] are interested in where the oil is. Taranaki, which is a proven basin and has proven production, is the obvious area of interest--but they are also looking at other areas that have potential interest," Rolens said.

-By Lucy Craymer, Dow Jones Newswires; 64-4-471-5990; lucy.craymer@dowjones.com

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