Oil giant Anadarko's corporate affairs manager Alan Seay is refusing to meet with Maori at Raglan over exploratory drilling 110 nautical miles west of Raglan after objecting to comments made at last week's public gathering.

Mr Seay, who missed last Tuesday's meeting at Raglan Town Hall because he did not have enough notice, had canvassed the possibility of meeting Maori at another time.

Tainui hapu environmental spokeswoman Angeline Greensill had complained the Government had passed Maori over for consultation before issuing the oil giant a licence to drill an exploratory well.

But she put him off coming to Raglan after telling nearly 200 people at the meeting getting arrested protesting against the Anadarko New Zealand Company would be a badge of honour.

"I won't be doing that," Mr Seay told the Waikato Times yesterday when asked when they would meet.

"I have had an invitation and it's unlikely that I will be accepting. I have seen the quotations in the local newspaper about (it) being a badge of honour to be arrested. I don't think there's anything to be gained by having a discussion in that sort of environment."

Raglan Kaumatua Russell Riki was saddened by the lack of consultation.

"I will see if I can can arrange another meeting outside of Raglan."

A flotilla of ocean-going yachts, the last of which left Auckland on Monday, is racing drillship the Noble Bob Douglas to the site at the Romney Prospect in the Taranaki Basin.

From Friday a 500 metre exclusion zone will be in place and those aboard any vessel that breaches it will be liable for arrest. Drilling will occur in 1500 metres of water, New Zealand's deepest ever well.

Asked what Anadarko would do if the yachts entered the exclusion zone Mr Seay said it would be a matter for police.

"It's a safety concern."

Drilling will be carried out by the Anadarko New Zealand Company, a wholly-owned limited liability subsidiary of the Texas based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation which is registered in the Cayman Islands.

The Companies Office lists the two shareholders as Anadarko Petroleum Corporation chief administrative officer, executive vice president and general counsel Robert Reeves and executive vice president of international and deepwater exploration Robert Daniels. Both men are based in Texas.

As of December 31, 2012, Anadarko New Zealand Company had equity of US$28 million (NZ$34 million), just over a tenth of the $300 million it cost to clean up after the Rena spill near the Port of Tauranga.

Raglan resident John Lawson wanted to know, in the highly unlikely event of a spill, how recovery would be funded. "If Anadarko is sure that this is a highly unlikely event, why have they gone to the trouble of setting up a limited liability company and why have they been allowed to run the project that way?

Auckland maritime author John Julian, a former Lloyds of London insurance broker, said liability could be difficult to apportion in the marine casualty business and the offshore oil business often absorbed, or self-insured.

Mr Seay saidAnadarko was an experienced operator. "We have never had a serious mishap."