Environmentalists say oil exploration around New Zealand should be put on hold until proper regulation is in place.
The Brazilian company Petrobras last month won deepwater prospecting rights off East Cape.
The United States and Norway have put deep-sea drilling on hold pending the outcome of an investigation into the oil rig explosion last month in the Gulf of Mexico that caused a catastrophic leak.
The Government recently announced the establishment of a stand-alone Environmental Protection Authority but Environment and Conservation Organisations co-chair Cath Wallace says it remains to be seen whether the authority will have any teeth.
She says current protections for the marine environment are pathetic, and no drilling should go ahead until the regulatory authority is in place.
A petroleum engineer with Auckland University, Rosalind Archer, says until the reasons for the Gulf of Mexico blow out are understood, she wouldn't recommend drilling at similar depths in New Zealand.
She says it's likely that long-term, as technologies improve and become more affordable, oil companies will push deeper into New Zealand's off-shore waters.