Though some of the information has been released independently over the past 10 years, the publication marks the first time all the information has been presented in a single bound volume. The Great South Basin contains many large untested geological structures, some potentially larger than Taranaki's Maui natural gas field, that have all the right components for oil and gas. Four of the eight exploration wells that have been drilled since the 1970s have produced sub-commercial quantities of gas condensate.
Oil seeps on Stewart Island provide on-land evidence of the basin's worth.
The Great South Basin covers 100,000sqkm, or about 66 percent of the area of the South Island. It extends from offshore Otago to sub-Antarctic waters 300km south of Stewart Island. There are currently no exploration permits in what geologists describe as a moderately high risk area with the potential for high returns. Water depth in the Great South Basin ranges between 100m and 1250m with an average of about 700m. However, Dr Cook said even the deepest parts of the basin were well within the capabilities of today's drilling and production technology.