19 Jul 2018

Tens of millions lost from oil, gas ban - New Plymouth mayor

From Morning Report, 8:42 am on 19 July 2018

The country's largest gas user, Methanex, will continue operating for at least another decade. The Taranaki-based company is the world's largest producer of methanol. It has signed a gas supply contract for the next eleven years. New Plymouth's mayor Neil Holdom says it's a positive sign for a region that was experiencing a lot of doubts about its future. In discussing the oil and gas ban, Mr Holdom says: "What I heard from a number of companies was deals scheduled to be looked at by boards have been pulled." He says he cannot give details, but "we're talking, in some cases, about tens of millions of dollars."