ECan considers lead role in regional oil security

Environment Canterbury (ECan) is being encouraged to take the lead in protecting the region from the worst effects of oil shortages.

Rural Cantabrians are likely to be hardest hit by any fuel emergencies because of a lack of alternative transport and farm-machinery use.

An ECan-commissioned report by Christchurch energy analyst Ian McChesney concluded there was little knowledge of how communities would access fuel supplies in the event of an emergency or shortage.

Canterbury's total fuel reserves of 212.3 million litres would last about two months, although if storage had already been depleted regional storage of 20 to 30 days maximum was more realistic, his report said.

This week, the Canterbury regional transport committee discussed the report and the recommendation that ECan could brief people around the region on oil security and emergency responses.

A 2007 study of the impact of peak oil on the region found:

Energy demand is rising by 3 per cent to 4 per cent a year in Canterbury communities, particularly in the use of oil-based fuels for transport.

Canterbury is highly dependent on imported transport fuels, with no ready substitutes available.

Fuel shortages and price rises are expected within the 2006-16 long-term community plan, posing economic and social risk for the region.

McChesney's report said rural areas were particularly vulnerable.

"Last year, during the height of oil price increases, ECan experienced a big increase in requests for public transport services from areas outlying Christchurch city.

"In rural areas, oil price increases can potentially have multiple negative effects – fuel costs increase because of `tyranny of distance' and contribute to a downward spiral of reduced services, population decline and [a] decline in skilled work force."

Committee chairwoman Cr Jo Kane said knowing how vulnerable Canterbury was to the impact of peak oil was important for the long-term transport strategy and the region's energy strategy.

"We have to understand how we could respond as a region, not only in transport but in businesses, how people move around and communities' resilience to it."

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