April 27, 2012:

Shareholders in the operator of New Zealand's only oil refinery approved on Friday a major upgrade project to improve production and increase margins. At a shareholders' meeting of New Zealand Refining Ltd , 64.5 percent of shareholders gave the nod to the project, more than the simple majority required for approval. The continuous catalyst regeneration platformer (CCR) project is expected to cost around NZ$425 million ($346 million).

"We believed the case for the CCR Project was compelling for our shareholders and so it has proved to be," said Refining NZ chief Executive Ken Rivers in a statement. The upgrade will allow the refinery to process greater volumes and a wider range of crude types, reduce carbon emissions, boost revenues and margins. The size and value of the project meant it needed majority approval from shareholders.

Shares in New Zealand Refining, which were placed on a trading halt ahead of the vote, were steady at NZ$2.75. So far this year it has edged down about 1 percent against a gain of more than 7 percent for the benchmark index. NZ Refining currently supplies around two thirds of New Zealand's refined fuels and related products, including more than half its petrol, 80 percent of diesel, and virtually all aviation fuel. It is around 73 percent owned by the four major oil companies in the country, BP, Mobil Oil NZ, Caltex NZ, and Greenstone Energy Ltd, a joint venture between Infratil Ltd and the state NZ Superannuation Fund, which bought Shell Oil's local retail operations.

By Reuters