Negotiated Greenhouse Agreement
In 2003, the New Zealand Refining Company entered into the first Negotiated Greenhouse Agreement (NGA) with the New Zealand Government.
Negotiated Greenhouse Agreements are one of the methods the Government intends to use to meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.
As part of the NGA, we have an obligation to achieve and maintain best practice in energy efficiency. By achieving best practice, we will reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per unit of product produced.
Discharges to Air
The refinery’s discharges to air are monitored for a wide range of contaminants, but two are of special interest due to their impact on the environment – sulphur and carbon dioxide.
Sulphur dioxide is formed from the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels that contain sulphur and from processes in the refinery that remove sulphur from intermediate products. To substantially reduce potential sulphur dioxide emissions from non-combustion sources, sulphur is recovered from the process using the Sulphur Recovery Unit (SRU) and Shell Claus Offgas Treatment (SCOT) units, which together are estimated to be 99.58 percent efficient in removing sulphur from our discharges. Recovered sulphur is used in the fertiliser industry.
Monitored ambient sulphur dioxide levels at the refinery continue to remain below the Ministry for the Environment’s National Environmental Standards.
Recent increases in fuel and electricity consumption and carbon dioxide emissions reflect the increased energy demands of operating the Future Fuels plant that came on-stream near the end of 2005.