Fuel security pitch for Marsden Pt biorefinery
Felicity Wolfe, Energy News
29 October, 2026
A domestic feedstock supply has been located for the biorefinery planned for the site of the former Marsden Point oil refinery, Channel Infrastructure says. “ In the wake of global fuel shortages caused by the United States-Iran war, projects such as the biorefinery are now being positioned as important for New Zealand's energy resilience.” The refinery project is led by US-based Seadra, which planned to buy the decommissioned Marsden Point hydrocracker when oil refining ended in 2022, but in 2024 decided to instead use the former crude oil refining asset in a new biorefinery at the Northland site. Channel will be a landlord for the plant. Other consortium members are Qantas, ANZ NZ, Tokyo-based energy company Renova Inc and British energy assets company Kent Plc, as well as Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Air New Zealand.