Marsden Point Oil Refinery facts for kids
The Marsden Point Oil Refinery is New Zealand's only oil refinery. It's located at Marsden Point near Whangārei in Northland Region. This important place is run by a company called Refining NZ. The area was named after Samuel Marsden a long time ago.
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History of the Refinery
People in New Zealand needed more petrol and other oil products. So, in the 1950s, the government (led by Prime Minister Walter Nash) started looking into building an oil refinery.
Marsden Point was chosen because it had a deep harbour for ships. It also had flat land and wasn't likely to have big earthquakes. Plus, it was close to many people in the North Island.
Building the refinery started in 1962. The New Zealand government helped pay for it, giving the first NZ£10 million. The refinery officially opened on 30 May 1964.
In 1973, the government approved a big upgrade costing NZ$160 million. This was to add a special unit called a fluid catalytic cracker. Later that year, the price of crude oil went up a lot because of the 1973 oil crisis.
The "Think Big" Project
In 1979, oil prices jumped again due to the Iranian revolution. This made the government decide to expand the refinery even more. This was part of the "Think Big" energy projects, led by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon.
The expansion was first expected to cost $320 million. They planned to add a hydrocracker unit. Work began in 1981. The government also approved a 170-kilometre pipeline to Wiri, south of Auckland.
About 5,000 people worked on the expansion. The cost grew to $1.55 billion. The project faced strikes, which led to a special law being made. In 1985, the old refinery closed for five months for maintenance. The whole expansion finished in 1986, costing $1.84 billion.
Changes and New Owners
After 1984, the government changed how the oil industry worked. A new law meant the industry became more open. The refinery was then owned by the New Zealand Refining Company Limited. This company was a group of five main petrol sellers.
Today, companies like BP, Mobil, and Z Energy are major owners. The government gave $80 million to help the company adapt. They also worked hard to cut down operating costs.
What the Refinery Produces
The Marsden Point Oil Refinery uses a type of oil called medium-sour crude oil. Almost all of this oil is brought in from other countries. Most of the crude oil found in New Zealand is light-sweet oil, which is sent overseas to other refineries.
Marsden Point makes about 70 per cent of the refined oil New Zealand needs. The rest comes from places like Singapore, Australia, and South Korea.
Crude oil arrives at the deep-water port at Marsden Point. It is then turned into different fuels for New Zealand.
The refinery supplies a lot of New Zealand's fuel, including:
- about 85% of all jet fuel
- about 67% of diesel
- about 58% of all petrol
- all the fuel oil for ships
Refinery-Auckland Pipeline (RAP)
An underground pipeline connects the refinery to the Wiri Oil Terminal in Auckland. This pipeline is 168 kilometres long. It is 25 centimetres wide.
It carries petrol, diesel, and jet fuel. It can move up to 400,000 litres of fuel every hour. In September 2017, the pipeline was damaged by an excavator near Ruakākā. This stopped the fuel supply. It caused jet fuel shortages and flight cancellations at Auckland Airport.
Future of the Refinery
In August 2020, Refining NZ announced they were thinking about a big change. They considered stopping the refining process at Marsden Point. Instead, they might import fuels that are already refined.
