Oil companies are forging ahead with a contingency plan to import more fuels into the country to minimise disruption if planned industrial action at New Zealand Refining goes ahead next month.
BP external relations manager Jonathan Mills, speaking on behalf of the industry, said they were currently assessing how much fuel across all grades is being held in storage at the refinery, on ships and in terminals nationwide before deciding how much needs to be imported to meet demand over the threatened 11-day shutdown of the refinery.
Two unions representing 160 of its workers, or about half its workforce, have served notice of a two-day strike on Oct. 7 and 8, a move that would require the company to shut down processing units at the Marsden Point Refinery, and given restart times, could result in 11 days of disruption.
Mills said the most urgent priority was securing further supplies of jet fuel as the refinery supplies 100 percent of the local market. Auckland International Airport is understood to be likely to run short of aviation fuel within three days.
When asked if it was concerned about the proposed industrial action, Air New Zealand said, in a written response, that it didn't anticipate any impact on its fuel supply. It can typically take up to a month to arrange a shipment of imported oil from scratch but BP's Mills said shipments on the water now could be diverted if necessary.