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CentrePort
$80 million is being spent by Centreport and energy companies to protect critical fuel infrastructure at Seaview in Lower Hutt.
An $80 million project is underway in the Wellington area to protect a biofuel line that will provide gasoline to a million people in the lower North Island.
Seaview Wharf and the pipeline in Lower Hutt that transports gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from ships to tanks, is undergoing an extensive earthquake retrofit.
“It’s a very important asset, not just for Wellington, but for the lower North Island – from Ohakia down,” said Anthony Delaney, general manager of regeneration at CentrePort, which owns a 600-meter quay.
Delaney said $60 million was spent on the quay, which is used to offload one million tons of fuel from tankers each year.
Read more: *Southport spends $10m upgrading historic Bluff Town Wharf *port, region to reap benefits of oil farm * Wellington Lifelines Group calls for 20-year investment program for major earthquake protection
Z Energy, on behalf of other fuel suppliers, is managing the $20 million pipeline replacement from the quayside to storage tanks, where the fuel is trucked around the bottom of the island.
Delaney said there is a need to modernize the wharf, which was damaged during the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. While operations did not stop at the event, temporary repairs and other parts of the structure need to be strengthened, so that it can withstand another shaking.
CentrePort
More than one million tons of fuel is pumped at Seaview Wharf each year to the tank farms that can be seen outside Point Howard.
The ability to continue to provide fuel in the aftermath of the earthquake will be critical to the economy and resilience of the region, said Victoria Crockford, a spokeswoman for Z Energy.
“Together, Seaview Wharf, the fuel pipeline and storage terminals ensure that other lifeblood organizations such as emergency services, water, energy and telecommunications have the fuel they need to respond to a natural disaster,” she said.
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The work will also protect infrastructure in the future, making the dock compatible with different types of ships, and allowing the tubes to carry low-carbon fuels.
The first phase of the pipeline replacement began in February and is due to be completed by the end of the year. Another phase will be completed next year.
Work on the quayside is scheduled to begin later this year, with completion scheduled for 2023.
The quayside project is part of a broader investment in CentrePort properties and infrastructure. The port has $180 million in work planned.
Railroads were recently reconnected to the port yards in Wellington, and the area where containers are loaded and unloaded from ships – which was badly damaged during the Kaikoura earthquake – has been expanded.
“Before the earthquake, we had 585 [lineal] meters from the container berths. “After we had zero immediately,” Delaney said.
The company restarted 180 million by 2017, and is now working to increase that to 262 metres, which will allow better access to most ships using the port.
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