Partial fees changes approved

The decision follows consultation as part of a partial fees review of the Petroleum Fees Regulations and the Minerals Fee Regulations between May and June this year.

Changes to the fees regime include:

• A flat rate for annual fees of $50,000 for all non-exclusive (multi-client) Petroleum Prospecting Permits (PPPs);
• an annual rate of $1 per km² for exclusive PPPs;
• annual rates of $10.73 per km² for offshore minerals exploration permits and $102.22 per km² for offshore mineral mining permits.

The changes have been made to ensure fees reflect administration costs for these types of permit, and are expected to remove barriers to industry investment.

NZP&M expect the new fees regime to be in effect early 2015, following changes to the Fees Regulations.

A full review of the fees regime is planned in the 2015-16 financial year.