Refining

New Zealand is a net importer of petroleum. In April 2022, Channel Infrastructure, an independent fuel infrastructure company, began operating at a fuel import terminal at Marsden Point in Northland.

Before this, the fuel import terminal at Marsden Point was the only refinery in New Zealand operated by Refining NZ. This refinery had a capacity of 135,000 barrels per day. It is owned by the country’s three major oil companies, Exxon Mobil (17%), Z Energy (15%) and BP (10%), as well as institutional investors (27%) and other shareholders (31%).

In August 2021, due to falling margins, most of Refining NZ’s shareholders approved the plan to close the refinery and convert it into a refined petroleum products terminal.