Distribution

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 tanker - the tanker loading facility adjacent to the Refinery is used for distribution to outlets throughout Northland and North Auckland.

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.

But not all of the Refinery's output is distributed by sea. About one third of the NZRC's production travels 170 km by pipeline to the Wiri terminal in Auckland for further distribution by road tanker to Auckland City and nearby regions.

There is a further pipeline carrying jet fuel from Wiri to the Auckland International Airport.

About 800,000 tonnes of petrol and 470,000 tonnes of diesel are pumped through the Refinery to Auckland pipeline to the Wiri terminal each year. Fuel is distributed from Wiri by road tanker throughout the greater Auckland area and as far south as the Waikato. Last year, areas supplied from Wiri accounted for around 36% of New Zealand's total petrol and 25% of the total diesel usage. Together with jet fuel, the pipeline throughput made up around 45% of the Refinery's total production.

Imported Fuel

The remaining percentage of diesel and petrol requirements not met by the Refinery is imported directly, predominantly to the storage terminals at Wellington, Lyttelton and Mt. Maunganui. This fuel comes mainly from refineries in the Asia - Pacific region including Australia, Singapore and Korea, but sometimes also from further afield (the USA and the Middle East).

All four major oil companies import petrol and diesel to supplement the production from Marsden Point. In the past, the two smaller operators, Challenge and Gull Petroleum, have imported all their fuel - Challenge, through the ports of New Plymouth and Timaru, and Gull, through Mt. Maunganui.