100 Years of Innovation

During 2011 we are celebrating 100 years of exploration and production in New Zealand.

Shell’s first exploration in New Zealand was in the Kotuku Oilfields in 1911, inland from Greymouth on the West Coast of the South Island. Over the next 30 years our search for oil and gas took us to Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and Taranaki.

During World War Two Shell contributed to New Zealand’s wartime drilling programme, working with other exploration companies to find a new source of oil for the Allies.

Following the war, Shell entered a joint venture agreement in 1955 to explore oil and gas deposits in the Taranaki basin, off the West Coast of the North Island.

Four years later, the joint venture of Shell, BP and Todd, struck gold with the discovery of New Zealand’s first commercial onshore gas field, Kapuni. A new era began introducing a plentiful and affordable supply of natural gas for New Zealanders.

Buoyed by the success of the Kapuni discovery, further offshore exploration led to the discovery in 1969 of the Māui gas and condensate field, 40 kilometres off the Taranaki coast. Māui was one of the largest offshore gas fields in the world at the time and gave New Zealand a new source of energy for generating electricity.

Since the discovery of Kapuni and Māui, Shell has helped to set operational, environmental and safety benchmarks for the New Zealand oil and gas industry. With our newest plant, Pohokura, we are now leading the way in technology and sustainable development.

The billion-dollar Pohokura plant, 20 kilometres north of New Plymouth, is New Zealand’s largest oil and gas resource and the cornerstone of the country’s energy supply. When it started production in 2006, it became the first petrochemical plant in New Zealand to be remotely controlled.

Pohokura’s technical innovation and sustainable development were recognised in a 2010 award from Taranaki Regional Council.

Until 2010 Shell also owned and operated a nationwide network of petrol stations, major commercial, aviation, marine, bitumen and chemical businesses, and a distribution network. This business was sold to Infratil Limited and the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation. This company now operates as Z Energy Limited. 

We are proud that our business over the last 100 years has helped to establish and sustain much of the core infrastructure for New Zealand’s oil and gas industry. We are excited about continuing to invest in New Zealand as we meet New Zealanders’ energy needs into the future.