7 Mar 2013

Commercially viable oil find on East Coast unlikely - report

8:56 pm on 7 March 2013

Gisborne councillor Manu Caddie says the Government should forget oil exploration on the East Coast and look at clean, green energy options.

The East Coast Oil and Gas Development Study, released on Thursday, paints a picture of five scenarios from small-scale exploration through to high-volume production in the area.

The economic benefits range from adding about $360 million to the gross domestic product to $18 billion.

The $130,000 report was carried out by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Manu Caddie hopes oil and gas is now off the cards and more goes into researching green energy options, which have less impact on the environment.

He says local iwi are already investigating clean green options like solar energy and wind power, and the Government should get behind them.