Source: Radio New Zealand
Across the country, petrol has surpassed $3.30 a litre on average. RNZ / Unsplash
Until a few weeks ago you might have been forgiven for never thinking about where fuel comes from, other than the petrol station.
But given international uncertainty, a greater focus was going into what happens before you put the hose into your car at your local.
A global fuel crisis, limited supply and a sharp realisation Aotearoa sits at the bottom of the world, was being caused by the US and Israel’s ongoing war on Iran.
It’s hugely disrupted key supply chains and pushed Brent crude over $115 a barrel pushing the price at the pump up.
In New Zealand it’s created panic buying, huge queues and possibly even sabotage of an Auckland fuel line.
Firefighters work to contain a diesel leak in Auckland on Monday. Kim
But fuel had a long road to travel before it made it to New Zealand petrol stations.
Enroute to the shores of New Zealand, refined fuels sit in tankers, the biggest of them arriving at former refinery, Marsden Point.
The AA’s Terry Collins said as it’s a deep-water port, it could take the largest ships – up to 120 million litres.
There were nine other import terminals and two inland terminals in New Zealand – Wiri in Auckland and Woolston in Christchurch.
Mount Maunganui, Wellington and Lyttelton could receive medium-sized ships that carried 40 to 50 million litres of liquid fuels
Napier, New Plymouth, Nelson, Timaru, Dunedin and Bluff were the smaller regional terminals.
Collins said the tankers deliver the refined product from the ships to what is called ‘tank farms’ or storage tanks.
“You’ll see them perhaps Seaview in Wellington and Marston Point, obviously.
“They have big tanks, steel tanks, and generally what they do is they have what’s known as a sinking lid on them. That’s to contain the vapor as they go down.”
From here, fuel was sent around the country by road.
“They have a trucking system where the drivers turn up, pick up the fuel, and then deliver them to the service stations to be used in our vehicles.
“Depending on who they’re delivering to, a schedule of service stations where they drive around and discharge compartments of fuel, different fuel into each of the underground tanks and service stations.”
Or in the case of Marsden Point, fuel was sent through a special pipeline from Ruakaka to Auckland – ending up in the Wiri Terminal and Auckland Airport for further distribution.
Marsden Point. (File photo) RNZ / Peter de Graaf
“They’ll send down various products through the pipeline, but maybe diesel at one stage, maybe petrol at another.
“And that’s used to basically maintain the storage around the Auckland area, being the largest city in New Zealand.”
Collins said the storage tanks were like a dam with water flowing in and water flowing out.
“The level will go up and down, depending on how often the ships arrive and the shipping schedules.
“But the demand is usually fairly consistent, which is that flow out from it.”
Some fuel starts to go off after about three months, but Collins said that doesn’t happen because nothing sits for that long.
He reiterated it was not a good idea to store fuel for that very reason.
On top of the main and regional fuel terminals there were also smaller tankers that go rurally to farms and mining sites.
Refineries optimised for certain oil
Before the fuel even makes it to our shores, it must be refined.
Since the closure of the Marsden Point Oil Refinery in 2022, New Zealand imported all its refined fuel.
Before it’s refined, it starts off as crude oil, sourced mainly from the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
An oil field in Saudi Arabia. (File photo) Reuters/CNN Newscource
Refineries in South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia need to get their hands on it before it can turn it into essential fuels (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil), petrochemicals, and materials like plastics, rubber, asphalt.
New Zealand gets 80 percent of its fuel supply from just South Korea and Singapore.
However Collins said it’s not so simple, since the trouble in the Middle East takes away key supplies.
“Refineries aren’t all equal and oil isn’t all equal.
“We know it’s been a bit of a concern because they had been sourcing a lot from that market and because the refineries are optimized to use that type of fuel.”
He said it’s their decision where they get the crude oil from, but it may not be the kind that makes it the best for their refinery.
“Their decision is like asking the Kellogg’s company where they get their corn for their corn flakes.
“They need corn for their flakes, but some corn makes better cereal than others.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
