Fuel terminal mothballing now put on hold

The Canterbury earthquakes have put plans to mothball a 20 million litre-capacity fuel terminal in Timaru on hold.

The terminal, which is overseen by Chevron Caltex, was due to be divested, according to spokesman Sharon Buckland.

However, Saturday's 7.1 earthquake, which devastated much of Christchurch, and the subsequent aftershocks, which left supply and transport in Lyttleton compromised, forced the company to rethink.

"We have been advised by Lyttleton Port that it will resume deliveries of fuel. All of the fuel companies have been working together in the aftermath of the earthquake to assure supply is met." she said.

"However, what an event like this proves is that you may need a couple of extra layers of backup."

The Herald received a letter from an anonymous resident identifying themselves as a "Concerned Canterbury Citizen" querying the initial decision.

"Surely in the long term it would be better to have supplies spread throughout the island in case of future incidents? If the quake had been larger these terminals in Lyttelton may be in great peril with very few outside options."

Ms Buckland said the original intention was to divest the Timaru terminal of its services due to demand shifts.

"It had been something we had been in the process of evaluating over the last year, but we may look to reinstate it as required."

Meanwhile, New Zealand's two main supermarket chains said they should not have any difficulty supplying Timaru at this stage.

Foodstuffs, which owns New World, Pak 'n Save, and Four Square supermarkets, said it had lost its Hornby distribution centre, but two other Christchurch centres were working on a limited basis.

A spokesman for Progressive Enterprises, which owns Woolworths and Countdown supermarkets, also reported shortages of some products, particularly water and pet food.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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