Oil, gas and mineral exploration

Six government agencies, together with 16 regional councils, share the responsibility for managing activities in New Zealand’s offshore waters.

These waters include both our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Continental Shelf (CS), and our territ​orial waters.

• The EEZ is the area from 12 to 200 nautical miles (nm) offshore. The CS is the area where New Zealand’s submerged landmass extends beyond the EEZ. New Zealand has one of the largest of these areas in the world – covering more than four million square kilometres – more than 20 times the size of New Zealand.
• New Zealand’s territorial waters are the marine waters which extend from the coast out to the 12 nm limit.​

New Zealand’s offshore waters

Source: ESRI, DigitalGlobe, I-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo and the GIS User Community

This map outlines the continental shelf (CS), NZ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and the 12 nautical mile limit which defines NZ’s territorial waters.

Roles and responsibilities of the government

Roles and responsibilities of each agency in managing petroleum and mineral exploration and production

The stages of oil and gas exploration and production

Stages and approval processes for operators wanting to carry out exploration and production activities