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Oil companies say motorists should not expect radical changes at petrol or diesel pumps tomorrow when the Government's biofuel sales obligation kicks in.
Although October 1 is the official starting date, the industry will have up to 15 months to phase itself into the new regime under a renewed Labour administration, or it may escape any obligation if National wins office and abolishes it.
Gull and Mobil are already supplying bioethanol-petrol blends in various parts of the North Island and BP disclosed yesterday that it planned to start selling biodiesel on a modest scale by the end of the year.
But Shell indicated it had yet to finalise details for meeting the mandate, including which centres it would supply, despite building a storage tank at Mt Maunganui for potential bioethanol imports.
"We've got plans for a roll-out, but not on Wednesday," said company spokeswoman Jackie Maitland.
"We are focusing on delivering quality biofuel."
Sharon Buckland, spokeswoman for Caltex brand-owner Chevron, said her company was unable to make solid investment decisions before Parliament passed the Biofuel Act less than a month ago, and remained uncertain about these after National's promise to repeal the legislation.
"Frankly, we'll wait until after the election and deal with whichever minister is in power then," she said.
National's climate change spokesman Nick Smith confirmed yesterday that his party would remove the sales obligation and extend to all "sustainable" alternative fuel a tax exemption now applying to bioethanol only.
He said National preferred to offer incentives to stimulate biofuels, rather than mandatory requirements, and intended spreading the 42c-a-litre tax break to biodiesel and electric cars.
Energy Minister David Parker questioned National's tax promise, given plans by at least two companies to build new plants to turn tallow into biodiesel under the existing regime.
"Why, then, would you subsidise something that is going to happen anyway without a subsidy?" he said.
BP spokeswoman Diana Stretch said her company would ease into the new regime by supplying biodiesel from tallow by the end of the year after four years of trials.
But she said BP would have to add bioethanol at some point of the scale, which starts at 0.5 per cent of all fuels sales by energy content tomorrow, increasing to 1 per cent next year and 2.5 per cent by 2012.
Gull general manager Dave Bodger said his company was already selling enough biofuel to meet next year's requirements of 1 per cent by energy content, by filling more than 40,000 vehicles a month with 10 per cent ethanol blends from Fonterra dairy wastes.
Mobil spokesman Alan Bailey said his company had yet to exhaust a shipment of about two million litres of bioethanol imports.
BIOFUEL DEADLINE
OCTOBER 1-DECEMBER
31 0.5 per cent of total fuel sales by energy content.
2009
1 per cent of fuel sales
2010-2012
Rises 0.5 per cent a year until reaches 2.5 per cent.
Oil companies may seek ministerial approval to defer targets for the first 15 months, but must make up the shortfall in later years, plus 5 per cent extra.
