Consider repurposing oil refinery for biofuels
THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE MARSDEN POINT OIL REFINERY is to be closed without serious consideration of how the remaining equipment not used for import of petroleum fuels can be repurposed for production of biofuels is the result of poor planning by Government, says Brian Cox, Executive Officer of the Bioenergy Association.
“The Government is talking of having to spend $6.4 billion to purchase international carbon credits when it is not prepared to spend a fraction of that amount on emission reduction solutions in our own country, which would also create new employment and be part of the emerging bioeconomy,” he explains.
“In its recent Emissions Reduction Plan discussion document, Government says that its own draft plan is not adequate to reduce emissions enough, yet it is not prepared to investigate and work with opportunities which a repurposed refinery could provide and would fill that gap.
“Government is about to introduce a mandate for use of biofuels in transport yet is not prepared to look at how the refinery can be used to reduce the cost of domestic biofuel production. The plant could be a biorefinery to produce biofuels for heavy transport, marine (InterIslander), rail and sustainable aviation fuel. Domestic biofuels production will face a significant barrier if a new biorefinery has to be built from scratch. However with the refinery closed the most likely option will be that we simply import biofuels which are already high-priced because of world demand.
“The maximum value of the refinery for future biofuels production would be achieved if the Government assisted Refining New Zealand to keep the facility operational, at least for a period in which to develop a future plan for repurposing the assets.”