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Refining NZ independent directors back import terminal

  • Märkte: Crude oil, Oil products
  • 05.07.21

The three independent directors of the operator of New Zealand's sole 135,000 b/d Marsden Point refinery have urged shareholders on 6 August to approve a plan to convert the venture to an import terminal.

If approved by shareholders, Refining NZ will target to make a final investment (FID) on the conversion by the end of the July-September quarter to allow the import terminal to start around mid-2022.

The three directors are representatives of the firm's largest shareholders ExxonMobil, BP and domestic fuel marketer Z Energy. Refining NZ already has commercial agreements with BP and Z Energy for operating as an import terminal. Refining NZ is still in discussions with ExxonMobil but expects to have an agreement completed before the FID. BP, ExxonMobil and Z Energy own a combined 43pc of Refining NZ.

If the conversion plan is approved, Refining NZ will no longer have to carry out maintenance on the refinery's hydrocracker, which was to cost NZ$25mn ($17.5mn), the company said.

The conversion work is estimated to cost around NZ$200mn-220mn over five to six years following the FID. An additional NZ$60mn is required to prepare storage tanks for private storage services and another N$50mn-60mn for the demolition of the decommissioned refinery assets, with the timing yet to be determined. The company will also change its name to Channel Infrastructure should the conversion be approved.

Continuing capital investment is forecast at around NZ$5mn-10mn/yr once the import terminal is complete, Refining NZ said. This would be NZ$50mn-60mn/yr if it continued as a refinery operation.

Operating costs would fall as an import terminal, partly because of a projected 85pc drop in electricity consumption and no natural gas requirements, Refining NZ said. Marsden Point's operating costs were NZ$149mn in 2020, which as an import terminal falls to around NZ$35mn/yr with fee revenues around NZ$100mn/yr for the first three years of operation, falling to around NZ$90mn/yr for the following three years and then NZ$65mn for all subsequent years.

The import terminal will be able to handle 3bn-3.5bn litres/yr (52,000-60,000 b/d) of transport fuels for Auckland and nearby regions on the North Island, which accounts for around 40pc of national demand. Refining NZ forecasts tax losses of around NZ$300mn-350mn from the decommissioning of the plant and the subsequent write-off of refinery assets.


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