MUST-SEE: Drilling for oil in Godzone

Kaikoura is known for its beautiful coastline backed by mountains – and for whale watch – this is where they want to drill for oil – as well as every, damned other place

Kaikoura's trepidation with oil giant's arrival

TV3,

8 October, 2013

It is a balancing act – big, foreign oil, and us.

Next month, texan oil giant Anadarko begins the process of drilling deep sea exploration wells off the Taranaki and Otago coasts. In December, they'll go exploring off Kaikoura.

That's the same Anadarko that owned a 25 percent stake in the well that so disastrously exploded in 2010, spilling 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

In Kaikoura, many people view Anadarko's arrival with trepidation. This is a community defined by the sea and its relationship with it. They're not as confident as the Government Anadarko will get it right.

Where does the buck stop if something goes wrong, as it did in the Gulf of Mexico? Who would, or even can, clean up?

Whena Owen reports on black gold and the people who want to drill for it, in our waters.

To watch video GO HERE