Fuel industry in New Zealand
The Petroleum Industry has four main components: production, refining, distribution and retailing.
Imported fuel
The most of transport fuel is imported directly, predominantly to the storage terminals at Wellington, Lyttelton and Mt. Maunganui. This fuel comes mainly from refineries in the Asia - the Middle East and Pacific region including Australia, Singapore and Korea.
All four major oil companies import petrol and diesel to supplement the production from Marsden Point. A smaller operator, Gull New Zealand, imports all its fuel through Mt. Maunganui.
Distribution of Refined Product
The three main avenues for distribution of petroleum from the Marsden Point Refinery to regional centres are:
- by pipeline to the Wiri storage terminal in South Auckland
- by coastal tanker to storage terminals at New Zealand ports
- by road tankers
When it is done by road tanker - the tanker loading facilities adjacent to the port terminals or the Refinery are used for distribution to outlets throughout the country.
Supply of New Zealand petroleum and the delivery of the finished product to coastal ports is carried out by the New Zealand coastal tanker fleet.
A significant part the NZRC's production travels 170 km by pipeline to the Wiri terminal in Auckland for further distribution by road tanker to the greater Auckland area and as far south as the Waikato.
There is a further pipeline carrying jet fuel from Wiri to the Auckland International Airport.
Refining
The New Zealand Refining Company (NZRC) is New Zealand's only refiner of oil products.
The NZRC has operated since 1964 at the Marsden Point Refinery near Whangarei, producing petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other petroleum products for the New Zealand market.
his is one of the most modern refineries in the world, making New Zealand potentially self-sufficient in all refined products. It processes a wide range of crude oil types, imported from around the globe, with a balance of indigenous feedstocks from New Plymouth, Taranaki basin.
About one third of the Refinery's fuel production is transported by a 170 kilometre pipeline to storage facilities at Wiri, in South Auckland, for further distribution by road tanker to regional outlets. The other part of the production is carried by coastal tanker and road.
The company is owned by corporate and private investors and the major New Zealand oil companies: BP, Caltex, Mobil and Shell. These four oil companies are the main shareholders, as well as customers, of the NZRC. All the crude oils and feedstocks that are refined at Marsden Point are imported predominantly from Middle and Far East. Within the Refinery, various processes are carried out which produce premium and regular motor gasoline, automotive and marine diesel, aviation and lighting kerosene, fuel oils and bitumens.
