Refining NZ

Refining NZ was the name used by the company that operated the Marsden Point oil refinery in New Zealand. In 2022, the company transitioned from Refining NZ to Channel Infrastructure. Channel Infrastructure operates New Zealand's largest fuel import terminal and the Marsden Point Energy Precinct, and owns part of Australia's jet fuel supply chain.

In 2022, we transitioned from Refining NZ to Channel Infrastructure. We have a proud 60+-year history of operations, from our home at Marsden Point, in Northland, New Zealand. Marsden Point has been the headquarters of our business since 1962, when the site was chosen because of its convenient deep-water harbour, proximity to the main North Island population, low earthquake risk and the availability of land adjacent to the site. Prior to the establishment of a domestic oil refinery, New Zealand imported fuels directly – the same as what happens now in New Zealand. Building of the refinery began in 1962 and the Marsden Point refinery commenced operations in 1964. In the mid-1980s the refinery was substantially expanded and upgraded to allow for increased production. Extra tanks, utility supplies and environmental treatment units were added along with a 170-kilometre Marsden Point to Auckland pipeline. In 1988 the introduction of the Petroleum Sector Reform Act saw the energy industry deregulated. New processing agreements with the oil companies and improved operational performance saw the refinery establish a strong, cost-competitive position in this deregulated market. In 1999 New Zealand’s largest fuel testing laboratory, Independent Petroleum Laboratory (IPL), was established. IPL offered testing services to the refinery, local and international customers and government agencies. Refining NZ invested in Future Fuels in 2005, which allowed the refinery to produce cleaner fuels – removing benzene from petrol and reducing the sulphur content of diesel. In 2009, the Point Forward project increased the capacity on the refinery’s principle crude distillation unit (CDU1), and in 2015 the Te Mahi Hou project increased petrol production by around two million barrels per annum…

1. Home - Channel
2. Our History: Refining NZ to Channel Infrastructure - Channel
3. Corporate Governance - Channel
4. Who we are - Channel