Ruptured pipeline repaired, but now comes a slow build up to full capacity

Saturday, 23 September 2017

The pipeline will operate at 80 per cent until cleared for full use in the coming months.

Repair work on Auckland's ruptured fuel pipeline is complete, but pressure won't be at top capacity until early next year, officials say.

The single pipeline which serves virtually all fuel to the city, including aviation fuel to Auckland International Airport, has been out action since last Thursday after a bursting a leak due to historic damage by a digger.

The fuel pipeline which crippled New Zealand air travel has been repaired.

It was expected the first jet fuel would be pumped to the holding tanks in Wiri by midday Sunday, Refining NZ chief executive Sjoerd Post said on Saturday.

The pipeline would only gradually be brought up to full speed.

Refining NZ chief executive Sjeord Post said on Saturday the pipe had been repaired.

'We are in a start up process where we are being careful with that in the sense that as you open the pipe you get air in the pipeline and you need to be really careful that air doesn't start to play havoc with the pipeline pressure, so we're going carefully,' Post said.

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The pipeline will operate at 80 per cent until further tests were carried out over the next few months, Post said.

'It's a bit early to tell [when full capacity will return] but I think very early next year.'

Damage to the 170km Marsden Point to Auckland fuel line was believed to have been cause by a digger at some stage in the last three years.

Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Carolyn Tremain said as a result of the pipeline being out of action there was an increase of fuel tankers operating around the North Island.

The HMNZS Endeavour, which was brought in to help courier fuel from Marsden Point to Auckland, was stood down but will remain on call at the Devonport naval base.

'We believe there's currently no need for the HMNZS Endeavour to uplift and distribute fuel around New Zealand,' Tremain said.

'She will now be returning to Devonport naval base but will remain on 12 hours notice to sail and is prepared to respond if required.'

At the start of the fuel crisis, airlines' fuel allocation was cut by 70 per cent, disrupting thousands of air traveller's plans.

For a time some Auckland petrol stations also ran out of 95 octane fuel.

There may be short periods where certain fuel grades may still be unavailable but Aucklanders should not be worried, fuel industry spokesman Andrew McNaught said.

The industry expected diesel and fuel to be sent into the pipeline after the jet fuel supply was restored.

'I'd like to reassure everybody that the ground fuel situation in Auckland continues to be healthy.

'We're extremely focused on managing this issue to minimise the convenience to customers.'

The fuel industry was also waiting on the arrival of oil and chemical tanker Matuku on Saturday, which will unload 1.5 million litres of jet fuel and and 7.9 million litres of diesel.

It was expected jet fuel will be transported from Wynyard Wharf once safety and product quality requirements were complete.

Auckland Council will monitor transport routes tankers will take around the downtown wharf, chief operating officer Dean Kimpton said.

'They'll be monitoring those routes for weather conditions, should the weather change, for incidents, for construction or for anything that might frustrate transportation of jet fuel into Auckland,'

No road closures have been planned but parking space has been allocated for multiple tankers, Kimpton said.

Airline's fuel allocation rose to 50 per cent of normal levels on Thursday and is expected to be reviewed again on Monday.

Auckland Airport Chief Executive Adrian Littlewood said terminal operations and fuel deliveries were running smoothly.

The NZDF were among those who worked around the clock over the weekend to give the airport jetfuel reserves a much needed top up, he said.

Army drivers delivered tanker after tanker - carrying 32,000 litres of fuel each - from the Marsden Point refinery to the refueling station at the airport.

With the tankers supplying fuel and the pipeline coming back on line the airport was expected to 'return to normal', Littlewood said.

There were no planned cancellations for domestic flights this weekend and 97 per cent of international flights were operating, Board of Airline Representatives NZ Executive Director Justine Tighe-Umbers said.

International travellers were encouraged to monitor their flight status online.

Meanwhile, investigations into what action to take against those responsible for the fuelpipe rupture is about to begin.

Northland Regional Council is soon to shift priorities onto considering 'further action' including 'enforcement action'.

A spokesman said the council has been busy helping clean-up the fuel spill.

But 'council's focus in the coming week or two will shift towards investigation of the circumstances leading up to the leak,' the spokesman said.