In December 2011 Heatley became Minister of Energy and Resources. In 2012 he introduced the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill amending the Crown Minerals Act 1991 to 'promote', not simply manage, exploration and production of oil, gas and mineral resources. The legislation created a two-tiered permit system for the more complex, higher-return petroleum and mineral activities and the lower-return small business and hobby mineral operations. Amendments were also included in response to the report of the Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine disaster. The legislation was passed in 2013. In February 2012, he introduced a new 'block offer' process for awarding oil and gas exploration permit areas across New Zealand, including in its EEZ. Blocks on offer are confirmed following consultation with iwi and local authorities and a competitive tender is undertaken to finally allocate permits. This replaced a 'priority in time' process.