据彭博新闻社2023年7月13日报道，新西兰现有气田的天然气储量的可采时间不足10年，这引发了人们对该国未来能源供应安全性的质疑。

新西兰商业、创新和就业部在惠灵顿表示，到2022年底，新西兰探明和概算天然气储量下降了17%至1635拍焦耳。该部门表示，这一下降反映了去年145拍焦耳的国内天然气使用量，以及对估计储量的修正。

该部还表示：“根据过去10年平均200拍焦耳的天然气使用量，估计目前本国天然气储量首次降至10年剩余使用量以下水平。”尽管天然气使用量低于这一水平且还在下降，预计到2027年天然气产量将低于2022年的天然气使用量。

新西兰正试图通过补贴电动汽车和更换燃煤锅炉来遏制化石燃料的使用。新西兰政府在2018年禁止了新的海上油气勘探，并希望到2030年实现100%可再生能源发电。

目前，新西兰超过80%的电力来自水力、风能和地热，其余的主要是燃气发电，当湖泊蓄水量下降时，燃气发电提供了安全保障。

代表天然气勘探商和用户立场的新西兰能源资源协会首席执行官约翰·卡内基说：“天然气是我们能源结构中至关重要的组成部分，在依赖天气的可再生能源无法自给自足的情况下，天然气可以填补空缺。什么样的可大规模负担得起的替代可再生能源，可能填补目前预计在不到8年的时间内出现的空白？警钟应该敲响了。”

新西兰商业、创新和就业部表示，天然气使用量在2022年出现下降，部分原因是梅赛尼斯公司的甲醇工厂封存和马斯登角炼油厂的关闭，以及有利水电条件所导致的。

李峻 译自 油价网

原文如下：

New Zealand's Gas Reserves Could Be Used Up in 10 Years: Government

New Zealand has less than 10 years of natural gas available in its existing fields, raising questions about the security of future energy supply.

The nation’s proven and probable gas reserves fell 17 percent to 1,635 petajoules at the end of 2022, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said Thursday in Wellington. The decline reflects gas use of 145 petajoules last year plus revisions to estimated reserves, it said.

“Estimated gas reserves have now dropped below 10 years of remaining use for the first time, based on an average gas use of 200 petajoules over the last ten years,” the ministry said. Even though gas use is less than that, and declining, production is expected to drop below 2022 gas use in 2027, it said.

New Zealand is trying to curb the use of fossil fuels by subsidizing the take up of electric vehicles and the replacement of coal-fired boilers. The government banned new offshore oil and gas exploration in 2018 and it wants electricity generation to become 100 percent renewable by 2030.

The opposition National Party has pledged to lift the exploration ban if it wins the October election.

Currently more than 80 percent of power comes from hydro, wind and geothermal sources with the remainder largely gas-fired generation, which provides security when lake storage levels drop.

Gas “is a vital component in our energy mix and picks up the slack when weather-dependent renewables cannot get there on their own,” said John Carnegie, chief executive of Energy Resources Aotearoa, which represents gas explorers and users. “What affordable alternative renewable energy source at scale can possibly fill the gap now forecast to emerge in less than eight years’ time? Alarm bells should be ringing.”

The ministry said gas use fell in 2022 due in part to the mothballing of Methanex Corp.’s methanol plant, closure of the Marsden Point oil refinery and a decline in gas use for electricity generation due to favorable conditions for hydro.