Austrian oil and gas company OMV has been granted marine and marine discharge consents to drill up to 10 exploration and appraisal wells off the coast of Taranaki.
OMV's support ship was prevented from leaving Timaru's port by protesters in November. Photo: Supplied / Greenpeace
In granting the consents for the Maui Field, the Environmental Protection Authority acknowledged there would be some adverse effects from the activities, but found they could be appropriately avoided, remedied, or mitigated.
These applications were for non-notified activities, meaning public submissions were unable to be sought.
If OMV wants to proceed to production drilling after its exploration and appraisal programme is complete, it will need to seek additional consents from the EPA.