CHANNEL INFRASTRUCTURE NZ LIMITED Four years in the making, the new plant will lift production, cut CO2 emissions and increase the security of supply to New Zealanders who currently rely heavily on the refinery for much of their energy needs, Sjoerd Post, Chief Executive Officer of Refining NZ said.
"We believe Te Mahi Hou is not only a major step for Refining NZ, but also for New Zealand and Northland.
"Globally, projects on this scale typically import specialist contractors, but this has been completed successfully drawing on the substantial Northland and New Zealand expertise available to the refinery at home."
The new CCR (Continuous Catalyst Regeneration) plant will bring benefits for the business and the environment.
"Te Mahi Hou is a "sweet spot" for the refinery where we can be more profitable, while using less energy and reducing our CO2 footprint. We will continue to explore such beneficial growth opportunities for ourrefinery.
"Te Mahi Hou was a major commitment that we entered into four years ago. We are delighted to see it brought to such a successful outcome. It will continue to contribute to the Northland and national economies, and we are grateful for the huge input of energy and skill we have had from the Northland engineering community in making it possible," Mr Post said.
The refinery employs 500 people and produces about 50% of the petrol New Zealand motorists use, 80% of the country's diesel and 100% of its jet fuel and shipping oils.
For information:
ENDS
Greg McNeill, Communications and External Affairs Manager M: 021873623; E greg.mcneill@refiningnz.com.
To be formally opened on March 10, Te Mahi Hou (The New Venture) is a $365 million four-year investment, making it one New Zealand's largest recent private sector projects
Its new CCR (Continuous Catalyst Regeneration) technology delivers higher production, cuts downtimeand reduces CO2 emissions
Completed on budget and ahead of time by NZ contractors, enabling the refinery to compete with Asia Pacific rivals twice its size
Project purpose and benefitsApproved in April 2012 to replace an ageing platformer unit built in 1964
Allows more effective regeneration of catalyst process that breaks hydrocarbons into the precursors to petroleum, needing maintenance shut down for this unit every six years instead of every 18 months
The CCR will:
Lift production by two million barrels to around 13 million each year
Reduce CO2 emissions by around 120,000 tonnes ayear
Increase gross refining margins, and lift cash flow $50 -$55 million a year
Flexibility to process more light crudes
Impact on Northland and NZ economy
At its peak the project employed around 440 people, most from Northland
$128 million spent in Northland
Analysis by North Tec estimates the benefits of project activity at $247 million for Northland and a further $67.5 million for New Zealand, and forecasts:
Ongoing income for Northland of $159 million annually, plus
Ongoing income for New Zealand of $223 million annually
Contracting engineers report new staff they hired and trained for the project remain in the industry
Scale of the project1.75 million man hours
650 contractors, working on and off site
6574 tonnes of sophisticated new plant and structural steel fabricated and assembled
Refining NZ's place in NZ economyCurrent workforce is 500
The refinery produces:
About 50% of NZ's petrol (expected to rise to 65% after Te Mahi Hou )
80% of NZ's diesel
100% of NZ jet fuel
100% of NZ fuel oil used for shipping
The New Zealand Refining Company Limited issued this content on 11 March 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 10 March 2016 23:20:23 UTC
Original Document: http://www.refiningnz.com/media/104572/tmh_official_launched_-_thursday_10th_march.pdf
