Country plans to expand offshore gas fields following ‘disaster’ ban on oil drilling.

New Zealand has abandoned its pursuit of net zero by revoking a ban on drilling for oil and gas.

The country’s government confirmed the shift in its latest budget this week, which unveiled plans to invest NZ$200m (£90m) in new offshore gas fields. The Telegraph has the story.

The reversal marks an end to a policy announced by Jacinda Ardern, the former prime minister, in 2018. She claimed at the time that “the world has moved on from fossil fuels”.

Her attempted ban has since been replicated in Britain by Ed Miliband, the Climate Secretary, who halted all new North Sea drilling after Labour triumphed in last year’s election.

However, Nicola Willis, New Zealand’s finance minister, has consigned Ms Ardern’s policy to history by announcing plans to expand offshore gas fields.

In particular, she is seeking to attract international oil and gas companies with a taxpayer-backed subsidy of NZ$200m (£88m).

It comes after New Zealand’s planned shift to renewables backfired, generating higher prices and raising the risk of blackouts.

Shane Jones, the country’s resources minister, said Ms Ardern’s ban had been a disaster.

He said: “We are feeling the pain of constrained supply. The Government is not prepared to sit on the sidelines and watch our industrial and manufacturing dwindle because of energy security concerns.

“We are focused on growing the New Zealand economy, creating jobs and increasing prosperity and resilience. Natural gas will continue to be critical in delivering secure and affordable energy for New Zealanders for at least the next 20 years.”

The decision to reverse the ban followed three years of rising energy prices that left 110,000 households unable to warm their homes, according to Consumer NZ, a non-profit advocate.

Transpower, the equivalent of the UK’s National Grid, also previously warned that the nation was at high risk of blackouts because renewables were not producing enough power during cold spells.

Read the full story here.