NZ Refinery cautious

Photo / Northern Advocate

The New Zealand Refinery Company, operator of New Zealand's only oil refinery, said its refining margins were relatively healthy in May and June but it was too early to predict a sustained recovery.

The operator of the Marsden Point refinery said a month-long planned shutdown of the hydro cracker and crude distillation unit number two was successfully completed on May 30 and all processing units were back on line and operating at full capacity.

The company's ability to upgrade lower cost feedstock into high value products was limited during the shutdown. This affected the average gross refinery margin for the two-month period, which was US$3.83 per barrel, down from US$5.55 per barrel in the March to April period.

Refinery margins are currently in the US$4 to US$6 range.

"Despite this positive trend, in our opinion, it is still too soon to say whether this reflects a sustained recovery in refining margins," the company said in a statement to NZX.

The refinery processed 6.4 million barrels in the two-month period. At an average exchange rate of US69.42 the processing fee earned for the two-month period was $24.6 million.

- NZPA