Through a series of Official Information Act requests to the NZ Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), we learnt that a suspended well at the Kupe oil and gas platform has been leaking since 2018.

“The EPA is effectively maintaining an ongoing watching brief on the KS-2 well discharge while it liaises with other agencies with responsibilities in relation to the discharge,” EPA, 18 April 2023.

“Beach Energy Resources NZ (Kupe) Limited (Beach Energy) advised it was able to install monitoring equipment on 22 February 2021 that recorded a gas volume release. The equipment transmission failed on 18 March 2021. The EPA approved a further application to install monitoring equipment on 14 March 2023…” EPA, 24 May 2023.

Read the media story published in Radio NZ on 15 May

Then in response to Radio NZ on 31 Oct 2023, EPA wrote: “In April 2023 Beach Energy deployed the subsea monitoring equipment. However, due to battery failure the subsea module was recovered in June 2023, and has yet to be redeployed. It is expected to be redeployed before the end of 2023…

Although the discharge was assessed as likely to be a harmful substance as defined in the EEZ regulations from sampling undertaken in 2018 and therefore a breach of section 20B of the EEZ Act, this is not conclusive. The limited data doesn’t indicate the discharge has increased or given enough information to assess the environmental effect associated with the discharge.”

Read the media story published in Radio NZ on 31 Oct 2023.