In New Zealand, 11 exploration licenses were granted in 1989, all in the offshore Taranaki basin; 9 licenses were relinquished. Total seismic reflection acquisition increased, with 546 km onshore and 4482 km offshore. Data collection in PPL 38116 accounted for 1082 km of the offshore total. Extensive 3-D surveys were also conducted over Kapuni and Waihapa fields. Drilling activity decreased to 13 wells (totaling 38,764 m), all in Taranaki. More than half of the wells were appraisal or development wells; 5 were wildcat wells, of which 4 were onshore and 1 offshore. Total petroleum production in New Zealand for 1989 was 4864 million m³ of gas, 1.207 million m³ of condensate, and 949,000 m³ of oil. Plans to build a second production p atform over the Maui B accumulation were completed, and tenders are being sought.

In Papua New Guinea, 3 Petroleum Prospecting Licences were granted in 1989, all in the Papuan basin; 1 extension was refused; 2 were relinquished; and 3 were canceled. Twenty-three wells were drilled, 19 of them in PPL 100. The Agogo 1X discovered Agogo field, and the Hedinia 8X discovered a new oil pool. Twenty-two geophysical surveys were conducted on 15 PPLs.

In 1989, no new developments were reported from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, or Vanuatu.