A mayor is praising the potential benefits of oil drilling near Dannevirke and says local opponents of the scheme do not represent the whole community.
Oil or gas deposits on the eastern side of the North Island have been known about for years, with oil spontaneously bubbling to the surface in some farmers' fields.
A study released by the Government earlier this month says petroleum deposits in that part of the country could be worth as much as they are in Taranaki - $2.5 billion a year.
Tararua mayor Roly Ellis thinks the possibility of getting even some of this could be a godsend for a region facing economic stress.
"It doesn't matter who comes to it," he says, "we have to look at absolutely everything. With the way that farming has been going the last few years, it's extremely hard. I don't think we want to chuck away any sort of resource that we might have in the district. We have to be wide-minded and not blinkered."
Resource consent was recently granted to Vancouver-based Tag Oil to search for oil or gas, or both, in the hills east of Dannevirke, and the company is about to start work on two wells.
Opponents of oil drilling met on Tuesday night to pursue their campaign and spokesperson Donald James says they intend to seek more advice on whether they could file for an injunction in the High Court.
Earlier, Tag Oil rejected suggestions that it has not consulted Tararua people over its plans.
Opponents say it got the go-ahead without adequate consulation with the local community, but chief executive Garth Johnson says the company has had hundreds of meetings at town halls and with landowners, councils, iwi and media over the past two years or more.
