3 Key Regions for Energy Development: Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM), Statoil ASA (ADR) (STO)

New Zealand

Photo Credit: Phillip Capper

At the beginning of the year, I wrote about Shell’s efforts to conduct seismic surveys offshore New Zealand in its quest for oil. This time, the story is about natural gas.

New Zealand is self-sufficient with its natural gas production. The country’s 20 natural gas fields generated about 1.5 tcf in 2011. The government’s Petroleum Action Plan aims to increase the development of these resources. Currently, gas production contributes roughly $2 billion to the country’s GDP.

So far, the plan seems to be working. Improving production results allowed Canadian company Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH) to announce it was increasing capacity at its New Zealand methanol plants. The company will boost capacity in the country by 700,000 metric tons by the end of the year, for a total of 2.2 million metric tons. The increase will necessitate restarting one facility and expanding another.