It is with great regret that Oil Free Otago report they have no more oil companies to chase away from the southern ocean.

“What are we going to do with ourselves?” said Dunedin grandmother Rosemary Penwarden.

“Anadarko, Shell, OMV, Beach Energy and now New Zealand Oil And Gas (NZOG) have all run away.

“Who’s left to chase? Now that our albatross breeding grounds are protected from the risk of catastrophic oil spills, can we finally go back to weeding the garden and looking after the grandchildren?

“Wait. We still face extinction.”

NZ Oil And Gas CEO Andrew Jeffries today regrets the “perfect storm” that led to his surrender of the Barque prospect 60km off the coast of Oamaru - “…adverse regulatory settings; the dry hole at OMV's Tawhaki permit; the recent announcement terminating Wherry-1 drilling; and the effects of Covid on drill rig costs and availability making the task of finding suitable partners in the required timeline impossible.”

“Not once did he mention the climate chaos that the rest of us are concerned about" said Penwarden.

"Not once did he wonder at the logic displayed by his “suitable partners” at exploring for unburnable oil and gas in the midst of a climate emergency.”

Oil Free Otago would like to wish Mr Jeffries the best of luck finding a proper job, one that aligns with a liveable planet rather than destroying it, and stopping his industry’s wilful disregard of all our futures.

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