Fuel shortages still hitting drivers but outlook improving

Z Energy expects stock outs to be down to a handful per day in the first week of January. Picture / Dean Purcell

Fuel shortages following disruption this month to the Marsden Point to Auckland fuel pipeline are still hitting drivers, but Z Energy says the outlook is improving.

Z's Te Atatu station today was out of 91 fuel.

"We still have sporadic and short-term outages in parts of our network although the outlook is improving and today we've got about half the stock outs we had yesterday," a spokewoman said.

"We're expecting stock outs to drop even further next week and be down to a handful per day in the first week of January, following the usual drop in demand directly after Christmas."

Z Te Atatu was due to get a delivery of 91 in a couple of hours. The station had stocks of ZX and diesel, "and customers are able to fill up with ZX there for the price of 91 while 91 is out". The Te Atatu site was not out of stock of 91 yesterday.

"Most of the stock outs are of Premium fuel, we prioritise delivery of 91 as this is the most widely used fuel."

The pipeline supplies petrol, diesel and jet fuel from the Marsden Pt Refinery to the Wiri Oil Terminal in South Auckland. It supplies about 95 per cent of Auckland's total fuel, including all of Auckland International Airport's jet fuel.

The 170km pipeline was shut down for more than 12 hours on December 10 following what turned out to be a false alarm from a leak detection system.

There were already lower supplies following the rupture of the Refining NZ pipeline at Ruakaka in September. The pipeline has been operating at 80 per cent capacity since then and it could be early next year until it is fully restored.

"The latest Refinery to Auckland Pipeline (RAP) disruptions have exacerbated already tight supplies driven by the pipeline not operating at full capacity, very strong jet fuel demand and long spells of hot, dry weather boosting ground transport fuel demand," the spokeswoman said.

"It's important to remember there is no shortage of fuel, rather it has been particularly difficult to get it to where it is needed most.

"This logistics challenge in getting more fuel from ports to service stations will result in some service stations running out of some fuel varieties in the short term. These shortages will be occasional and won't last long as we work to replenish stocks as soon as possible."