Recent news that the coalition Government is considering the construction of a new oil refinery or the re-opening of the Marsden Point works to meet the country’s energy needs, at a possible cost of $7 billion, will be viewed by many as a climatically-controversial investment at this time.

While New Zealand’s present and future energy needs are certainly of critical importance, it was a far different situation faced by our first oil drillers desperate to process Taranaki’s early discoveries. At that time, bulk storage and efficient distribution of the black gold to the rest of the country was the biggest problem and not any potential danger to the environment.

New Zealand’s first oil refinery was opened by the Taranaki (New Zealand) Oil Wells Company at New Plymouth in August 1913.

However, at a time when motor vehicles were not as numerous and competition with imported petroleum products was fierce, the refinery enterprise soon required some further investment from its mainly British investors. For various reasons, this was not forthcoming and attempts to obtain a subsidy from the New Zealand Government also failed –– as illustrated by a Parliamentary debate in November 1914:

“The Prime Minister said the company concerned was in need of capital to keep it going. If it should shut down all the shareholders would lose their capital (about £100,000) and a promising industry would have to close.

“Mr. Wilford said that if the company could not keep going on private capital it was not the province of the Government to keep it going on public capital. Mr. Wilford put in a strong protest against the proposal in the Bill to expend £9000 in the development of the oil industry…

The subsidy proposal did not proceed and the refinery was eventually acquired by the Anglo-Persian Company, dismantled, and removed to the Persian Gulf.

How things have changed since a Government investment of ‘£9000 in the development of the oil industry’ was once so strongly objected to…