Refining NZ says 'false alarm' caused outage

Peter Gubb, of Refining NZ, Whangarei MP Shane Reti and Refining NZ CEO Sjoerd Post at the pipeline repair site at Ruakaka in September. Photo / Michael Cunningham

New Zealand Refining says yesterday's outage on the refinery-to-Auckland pipeline was caused by a "false alarm" and that it's back up and running.

The pipeline was shut down temporarily yesterday over fears of a leak, which were later discovered to be unfounded, the Whangarei-based company said in a statement.

Refining NZ said the connection has recently been granted approval to increase the pressure pumped through the pipes, and with the addition of an extra pump at the Kumeu station, can run at "high throughputs" than before the September outage when a leak disrupted Auckland's fuel supply.

"We are hopeful that the higher throughput will assist our customers establishing robust stock levels at Wiri," communications manager Greg McNeill said in a statement.

The September outage was caused by a digger damaging the pipeline near the refinery, which led to fuel shortages in the country's biggest city.

The refinery's fuel company's customers said yesterday's outage would likely have some impact on Auckland fuel supplies at a time of high seasonal demand.

"Each fuel company is individually working to put alternative supply arrangements in place to minimise any impact to customers," BP Oil New Zealand managing director Debi Boffa said in a statement on behalf of the refinery's customers.

"If there are any fuel outages at service stations they are expected to be intermittent and short-lived."

NZ Refining shares last traded at $2.55 and have decreased 1.9 per cent this year.