Refinery to Auckland Pipeline

Refining NZ
Port Marsden Highway, Ruakaka, Northland 0171, Private Bag 9024, Whangarei 0148, New Zealand
Telephone: +64 9 432 5100 Email: corporate@refiningnz.com www.refiningnz.com
11 December 2017

Announcement to NZX

Refinery to Auckland Pipeline
Yesterday, there was a report of a possible leak on the Refinery to Auckland Pipeline, which
resulted in a temporary shutdown of the line while investigations were carried out.
It has been confirmed that this was a false alarm. The pipeline has been restarted and is
operational.
Based on reports from industry experts Quest Integrity and Worley Parsons which confirm that the
September 2017 incident resulted from physical damage to the pipeline caused by an as yet
unknown third party using a mechanical excavator or ‘digger’, the certifying pipeline authority
recently approved increasing the pressure of the pipeline from 69 to 75 bar (87 bar prior to the
incident).
We are pleased to report that this pressure increase, together with early completion of the second
phase of the pipeline capacity upgrade project (an extra pump at the Kumeu pump station), means
that the pipeline is now running higher throughputs than prior to the September 2017 incident.
We are hopeful that the higher throughput will assist our customers establishing robust stock
levels at Wiri.


Further information:
Greg McNeill
Communications and External Affairs Manager
T: 094325115; M: 021 873623; E: greg.mcneill@refiningnz.com