A plan for how US oil and gas company Anadarko would deal with any oil spill when it drills in deep water off the Taranaki and Canterbury coasts has been given final approval by Maritime New Zealand.
Anadarko already has the green light from the Environmental Protection Authority to drill test wells off the Taranaki coast and in the Canterbury basin in the next couple of months and just needed Maritime New Zealand's approval.
However, Maritime New Zealand is refusing to release details of the management plan, citing the Official Information Act process.
A spokesperson says no one from the organisation is able to answer questions about its approval because it would have to refer to information on the plan.
A protest flotilla is already on its way to the Taranaki site.