The New Zealand Gas Industry Legal and Commercial Highlights of 1996 and 1997 'Competition Emerges'

摘要

Since 1996 the New Zealand gas market has undergone a number of significant changes as a result of the resolution or settlement of litigation affecting key industry players, the emergence of new participants who have access to sufficient gas and sufficient capital to have a real influence on market conditions and the promulgation of a regulatory regime relating to gas transmission activities. The result is that the contractual framework that was presented at the 1996 conference is now different in a number of key areas and is continuing to change. These changes suggest that robust competition is now a reality for all the major participants but less so for retail customers. The paper will describe the key commercial and legal events that have occurred in the New Zealand gas market over the last two years. The paper will thus discuss: 1. The role of Contact Energy Limited and one of its two core business activities, gas marketing and trading. 2. The settlement of the Natural Gas Corporation (NGC)/Enerco New Zealand litigation and Enerco's emergence as a significant purchaser of gas. 3. The resolution of the Kapuni litigation and entry into the gas market of Shell and Todd as gas wholesalers. 4. The unbundling of transmission arrangements and the effect of the Gas (Information Disclosure) Regulations. 5. The increased trading of gas entitlements. The paper will conclude with some observations and a prognosis about the likely future pattern of activity.