Oil production is becoming a fourth pillar of the NZ economy, behind dairy, meat and tourism. Latest figures show in 2008 oil export earnings ranked third behind dairy and meat in merchandise trade.

Crude oil and condensate production rose 57% to 2.5m tonnes in the year to December 2008 from 1.6m tonnes in 2007. The value of oil exports jumped 103% to $2.8bn from $1.4bn in 2007, thanks in part to the peak prices for crude in international markets. Although prices have since slumped, oil production looks set to be a significant factor in NZ’s trading future. While crude oil output from the Tui field off Taranaki is dropping as projected, the Maari field commissioned this year is exceeding expectations, and is producing just on 40,000 barrels a day. This could build up even more if appraisal drilling of the nearby Manaia structure yields additional production. The Kupe field is due for commissioning later this year, and though it’s mainly a gasfield, it will also yield liquids both condensate and LPG.

Global external trade figures issued by MFAT and Statistics NZ show mineral fuel exports in 2008 accounted for 6.9% of the country’s total exports. Dairy products accounted for 21.6% of total merchandise trade, meat was the next largest at 12%.

Expressed in petajoule energy terms, 2008 oil production was 128PJ, ahead of the previous record high of 121PJ in 1997. Strong flows of crude oil from the Tui oilfield and condensate from the Pohokura wet gas field accounted for most of the increased output. Tui accounted for 65% of last year’s production, Pohokura 20.7%, while Maui slipped to 8%.

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