If oil is found in the Great South Basin?

[muppet]

If oil or gas is found in the Great South Basin and
the Government uses the royalties carefully then a fund
like Norway's fund could be very useful for the future of New Zealand.

Norway’s 4.7 trillion kroner ($NZ920 billion) oil fund made a 5% ($NZ44.5 billion) return
on assets in the September quarter, went shopping and also carried on increasing the fund’s value.
At the end of November its market value topped 5 trillion kroner ($NZ980 billion),
after crossing the 4 trillion line in February 2013.


Norges Bank Investment Management,
asset manager for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global,
has decided to gradually increase its real estate investments from
0.9% to as much as 5% of its assets as it cuts back fixed income from 35.5%.
The remaining 63.6% is in equities.

The Norwegian fund made its first real estate investments in 2011 in office & retail properties in London & Paris.
It entered the US market last February through a joint venture with TIAA-CREF
(begun a century ago as a retirement services fund for teachers)
in 5 office properties worth $US1.2 billion in New York, Washington & Boston.
The oil fund bought 49.9% from TIAA, which retained a 50.1% stake.

http://www.propbd.co.nz/world-property-w15jan14-oil-fund-goes-shopping-fosun-buys-european-insurer-chinese-builder-buys-us/?utm_source=Bob+Dey+Publishing+List&utm_campaign=f417747dbe-Bob_Dey_Property_Report_newsletter_W15Jan14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7b04bb0d30-f417747dbe-284798409

[Winston001]

Yes but Norway appears to have imposed a unique ownership structure on its oil resources. I'm unaware of any other democratic nation including the UK with the North Sea and the USA with vast fields (Texas, California, Alaska) imposing sovereign control. Granted, the Middle East does.

The way this usually works is all minerals belong to the sovereign state. If an explorer wants to take a punt, they convince the govt they have the money, get a license, and if successful they pay a royalty to the government. No taxpayer risk.

I think in Norway (and Mexico, Columbia etc) the govt actually invested in exploration so it took on the risk with the drilling companies. Norway had a win but many holes are dry. The Southern Basin has been talked about since I was a schoolboy but not one barrel of oil has arrived onshore.

[Winston001]

Nevertheless, NZ would be silly not to look at the Norwegian experience and adapt. At the very least our govt should explain why the Norway model could not work here.

[jimO]

but not one barrel of oil has arrived onshore.

wasnt there oil washing up on stewart island