Last week EnergyReview.Net reported on a special energy forum in New Plymouth at which several speakers said LNG and "clean" carbon-taxed coal were the most likely replacements later this decade for a gas-strapped New Zealand.
Some industry commentators perceive New Plymouth, with its deepwater port and existing infrastructure, as the natural place for an LNG importation depot. However, others see Auckland or Northland as more favoured sites as they are the growth regions of New Zealand, along with Waikato and northern Bay of Plenty.
The same analysts who wanted gas-fired power stations built in or near Taranaki, with that electricity transported out of the region, are now saying the under-utilised oil and gas infrastructure could and should be used to store and then transport LNG out of Taranaki.
"There is a lot of under utilised infrastructure here and even more if Methanex completely shuts its methanol plants later this decade; Methanex storage tanks at the Omata tank farm could then become available. There is a lot of spare capacity in the Maui gas pipeline, this country's largest, which still might not be fully utilised with Pohokura gas," said one commentator recently.
Available LNG storage near Port Taranaki, regasification and then transportation north via the Maui pipeline are all factors favouring the energy province.
However, other commentators told ERN they see the odds overwhelmingly favouring a Northland-Auckland LNG site.
"Why would anyone want to pay to bung LNG through hundreds of kilometres of pipeline to the main market, Auckland, with all the attendant costs?" one asked.
"Auckland is where the demand and growing demand is, both in terms of gas and, more especially, electricity."
He said an LNG importer would look at having power stations as base-load customers and additional power stations in the Auckland region would be able to meet that big market growth, as well as bypassing TransPower's national grid system, with its charges and line losses.
Marsden Pt, a deeper port than Port Taranaki, could be used. As well, it should be relatively straightforward to lay a gas pipeline alongside, in the same easement, as the existing Marsden Pt-Wiri (south Auckland) products pipeline. The mothballed Marsden B power station could even be re-engineered to run on gas from LNG.
