Mobil Oil New Zealand has been fined $288,000 for a major heavy oil spill into Tauranga Harbour .
The cause of the discharge was oil escaping from two holes in a rusted lateral pipe which was a key part of the Mobil's bunkering (ship refuel) pipeline system.
The company was sentenced in Tauranga District Court today after earlier pleaded guilty to charge of discharging a contaminant into water.
The court heard Mobil failed to take crucial repairs when a corroded pipe was first identified years ago.
The charge attracts a maximum penalty of $600,000.