Resources
Foreign investment in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Overseas Investment Office - April 2022 Decision
All Major Petrol Retailers Once Again Owned Overseas
The Minister for Land Information and the Associate Minister of Finance approved Ampol Limited Australia (99.06%); New Zealand (0.49%); Various (0.45%) buying 100% of Z Energy Limited New Zealand (55.43%); Australia (29.49%); United States of America (8.76%); United Kingdom (1.76%); United Arab Emirates (1.29%); Switzerland (1.00%); Various (2.27%) for “approximately” $1.96 billion.on in NZ's European history. Wool hardly rates a mention now, which is why I've chosen to highlight this one Decision.
CAFCA was asked to comment on this by Newsroom: "...the Overseas Investment Office has published the summary of its decision approving the purchase of Z Energy by Australian fuel company Ampol - unremarkable apart from the fact it's listed 31 sensitive rural and coastal sites, about half of which Z confirms are previously undisclosed landbank sites for service stations".
CAFCA begs to differ that a nearly $2 billion purchase of an NZ company by a foreign petrol retailer is "unremarkable". On behalf of CAFCA I responded to Newsroom: "Landbanking is a negative practice that happens across several industries - the recent Commerce Commission inquiry into the supermarket duopoly highlighted it. It has also been an issue in post-quake Christchurch, especially in the central city".
"But to me, the central point about Ampol buying Z Energy is this extract from an earlier media story from when the Commerce Commission approved the sale. 'It also means all major petrol retailers in New Zealand will once again be back under foreign ownership'. Coming at the same time as the oil transnationals who own the Marsden Point refinery are closing it down and leaving NZ dependent on shipments from Asian refineries, this reversion to foreign ownership of all of NZ's petrol retailers further puts at risk NZ's fuel security, particularly as the Ukraine War is putting a question mark over global fuel supply and security".
Not Just Petrol, But Craft Beer. It's A Hipster Crisis
And that ill-advised closure of the Marsden Point refinery is having negative impacts into all corners of the NZ economy. For example, take this from regular Stuff columnist Mike O'Donnell (16/7/22): "Up until March this year (2022), most local industries who needed C02 (including hospitality, food processing, carbonated drinks and breweries) used gas produced at the Marsden Point oil refinery. Marsden Point delivered about 70% of the country's food grade CO2 with Kapuni supplying the remainder".
"But in April (2022), the refinery was closed down as its owners changed business models. That left tens of thousands of local businesses dependent on Todd Energy's Kapuni gas field in Taranaki for their C02, or face the very expensive option of importing it out of Malaysia. Almost immediately, bulk gas supply companies like BOC and Air Liquide were forced to put in place rationing to try to protect their customers. Then it got worse. The increased reliance on Kapuni as the only gas producer coincided with a long-term plan by its owners to do maintenance on the plant over the winter, which further throttled production".
"In simple terms then, local businesses are now able to access less than half the food grade CO2 they used to, and at over twice the price of a few years ago with virtually all of it originating from a single throttled back plant. No surprise that businesses are hurting. In our case* it's directly impacting the amount of beer we can put on shelves in bars, cafes and bottle stores. And if it's hard for us with ten years of goodwill and a bit of scale, you can bet it's even harder for a good whack of the other 250+ craft breweries in Aotearoa". * O'Donnell is Chairperson of the Garage Project craft beer company. Ed.
"But it's not just beer. Iconic poultry food company Tegel is feeling the pain and has warned that it might not able to produce multiple food lines. Meanwhile cheese, preserved meats, sparkling wine and ready to eat meals are also affected, according to the Food and Grocery Council, and have flagged possible price rises; as have local lamb companies. Longer term there's got to be a better technical solution. Shorter term it's all going to come down to three factors. Firstly, how long will it take Kapuni to return to full C02 production - and if they will be able to match the previous production and pricing of Marsden Point".
For the record, here is the list of "31 sensitive rural and coastal sites, about half of which Z confirms are previously undisclosed landbank sites for service stations".
1 Hudson Road, Warkworth, Auckland
1/39 Northcote Road, Hillcrest, Auckland
2/39 Northcote Road, Hillcrest, Auckland
41 Northcote Road, Hillcrest, Auckland
2020 Great South Road, Bombay, Auckland
159 Golf Road, Galatea, Whakatane
198 Tararua Road, Levin
13 Johns Road, Belfast, Christchurch
38 Hawke Street, New Brighton, Christchurch
120 Fryatt Street, Dunedin Central, Dunedin
Pirikaha Road, Mangonui, Far North (Black Banner)
280 Paponga Road, Broadwood, Far North (Paponga)
Autawa Road, Tarata, New Plymouth (Autawa)
2775 Mangapoike Road, Whakaka, Wairoa (Te Puna)
368 Kirikau Valley Road, Kirikau, Ruapehu (Kirikau)
1129 Waitawhiti Road, Tinui, Masterton (Pukokino)
Pararorangi Road, Waituna West, Manawatu (Momona)
Whakatomotomo Road, Pirinoa, South Wairarapa (Pirinoa)
42 Wiffens Road, Kekerengu, Kaikoura (Matiawa)
1550 Avon Valley Road, Waihopai Valley, Marlborough
157 Smith Road, Herekino, Far North (Twin Ridge)
127 Campbell Road, Peria, Far North (Campbell Road)
Mangatipona Road, Fordell, Rangitikei (Mangatipona)
Mangahoe Road, Hunterville, Rangitikei (Mangahoe)
14637 Route 52, Alfredton, Tararua (Big Pori)
1154b Makakaho Road, Ngamatapouri, South Taranaki (Pinnacles)
188 Wicks Road, Wendon, Riversdale (Wicks Road)
267 Millricks Line, Linton, Palmerston North (Barracks)
1729 Kawautahi Road, Owhango, Ruapehu (Kokaha Adjusted Boundaries)
872 Kohukohu Road, Far North District, Northland
Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa,
P.O. Box 2258
Christchurch.