Last October Contact Energy – owned by Australia's origin Energy but also New Zealand’s largest listed energy player – said it was focused on Taranaki as the likely site for any NZ$600 million LNG regasification plant should it and government-owned Genesis Energy decide to import LNG from late this decade or early next.
Now Genesis chief executive Murray Jackson says Marsden Point is back in contention because of possible safety concerns over Port Taranaki being a trans-shipment and storage port for up to 1.3 million tonnes per year of Pike River coking coal from mid-2007.
The coal is to be shipped from the South Island’s West Coast to Port Taranaki for stockpiling and subsequent export to Asia, India, South America and Europe.
Jackson said New Plymouth had been the preferred place for LNG importation and distribution but news that Port Taranaki was going to be stockpiling large quantities of coal cast doubt on its suitability to handle LNG imports as well.
“They (Port Taranaki management) have assured me that Pike River coal is hard coking coal and different from the stuff we import from Indonesia for Huntly,” Jackson told EnergyReview.net, referring to Genesis’ 1000MW dual-fueled (gas or coal) Huntly power station.
“We have had to store our coal in sheds at Port of Tauranga because of the high winds and possible hot-spots, spontaneous combustion.
“Maybe Port Taranaki will have to do the same. You don’t want hot-spots flaring up as you are bringing a load of LNG into port.”
Jackson said each site had its pros and cons.
One of Taranaki’s advantages was the existing infrastructure, particularly the Maui pipeline to Huntly that can transport large quantities of gas north to energy-hungry Auckland, Northland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
Though Marsden Point was a good deepwater port, with plenty of available land, there was insufficient capacity in the existing Auckland-Northland gas pipeline to transport the 50-60 petajoules per year of gas likely to be imported as LNG.
Jackson said a bigger pipeline could be laid in the easement that contained the existing petroleum products pipeline from the Marsden Point oil refinery to Wiri in south Auckland. But it would probably cost NZ$150 million or so.
“My boys are still working on the preferred site, and hope to have reached a decision soon.”
He said Contact and Genesis, the country’s two biggest gas users, were nearing the end of their joint feasibility study into the economics of importing LNG to bolster domestic gas supplies.
Port Taranaki management has declined to comment.
