New Zealand Mulls CNG Imports

New Zealand energy companies are considering importing compressed natural gas to help make up a possible gas shortfall when the Maui field runs dry in 2010, as reported in the New Zealand Herald. As the Maui gas field, off the south coast of Taranaki, nears the end of its life, concern is mounting about how to make up the energy shortfall if no new gas fields are found. CNG would overcome several objections to one of the alternatives gaining traction - the importation of liquefied natural gas. But it may be more complicated and expensive. If energy companies decide LNG is the most viable option, they would most likely - with Government help - spend as much as $684 million to build an LNG terminal at Marsden Point or New Plymouth. Here LNG would be received from massive ships, stored and later transformed into a gas before being piped into the national gas grid. Some believe the cost and the potential dangers of LNG are too high. They warn the risks of New Zealand becoming overly dependent on offshore energy and the vulnerability of the economy to a failure at an LNG terminal need to be considered.

(Source: New Zealand Herald)