Refining

The New Zealand Refining Company (NZRC) [external website] 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.

In 1986 an expansion of the refinery made it one of the most modern refineries in the world, making New Zealand self-sufficient in all refined products.  As a result it processes a wide range of crude oil types, imported from around the globe.

About half of the Refinery's fuel production is transported by a 170 kilometre pipeline to storage facilities at Wiri, in South Auckland.  The other half is carried by coastal tanker and road to other parts of New Zealand.

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 owned by customers, who import it from predominantly Middle and Far Eastern origins, and the NZRC charges them a processing fee.

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.