Source: Radio New Zealand
The Chatham Islands. RNZ/ Matthew Theunissen
The diesel-reliant Chatham Islands are bracing for an energy shock as petrol hits $4.50 per litre and may continue to rise.
The Chatham’s relies heavily on diesel to power the island. Although the Point Durham wind farm that opened in November is now carrying a chunk of that load.
Petrol was also shipped to the island, about 800km from the mainland.
The price of Brent crude was fluctuating off the back of war in the Middle East, at one point hitting almost US$120 a barrel.
The approximately 650 residents on the Chathams are bracing for pain at the pump.
Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust chief executive and council interim CEO Bob Penter said residents are a bit nervous.
“We are watching closely at what’s happening in the Middle East… We are certainly starting to see the effects come through to the Chathams,” he told RNZ’s Checkpoint.
Fuel arrives at the Chatham Islands by ship from New Zealand, around 120,000 litres at a time.
Penter said the island’s latest weekly fuel price has jumped about 73 cents, or 57 percent, when compared to the last three weeks.
It puts diesel at $2.29 per litre and petrol at $4.50 per litre, he said.
“We have got a bit of resilience because we’ve got a tank farm that allows us to store approximately 400,000 litres on the island… But not a lot of breathing space and eventually, if the Middle East events continue, we are going to be forced to revisit our pricing.”
Penter hopes petrol doesn’t crack $5 per litre.
“The island depends on fuel for pretty much everything we do here. It’s our flights, it’s our shipping, it’s electricity [and] it’s how we get our food here. If we are looking at price increases, it’s really going to dramatically impact the cost of living for Chatham Islanders, which is going to be a major concern.”
On Monday, the chief executive of Air Chathams said the rising cost of oil is costing the small airlinesome $140,000 extra a month in fuel.
Air Chathams chief executive Duane Emeny told Checkpoint the airline may have to cut the number of flights should the price of jet fuel remain so high.
“If you can’t afford to put aeroplanes in the air, then you’ve got to look at that and say ‘do I cut back my schedule, do I provide less connectivity because of this cost and then wait until it comes right and eases?’.”
Penter said the island hopes the conflict in the Middle East settles down sooner rather than later.
“Chatham Islanders are probably more resilient than the global fuel supply at the moment,” he said.
“They’re pretty stoic in terms of events like this, but really, the fuel, we are essentially a diesel economy.”
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
