(EnergyAsia, March 1 2011, Tuesday) — BP Oil New Zealand said it has re-opened its Lyttelton oil storage terminal after giving it a thorough safety inspection in the wake of the deadly earthquake that struck on February 22.

At least 145 people are believed to have died in the city of Christchurch in South Island when the 6.3-richter scale quake struck.

BP NZ managing director Mike McGuinness said that by re-opening the terminal, the company will be able to replenish its stocks in the Canterbury region, and ensure fuel supply over the coming weeks.

He said: “We have ample stocks in Lyttelton and Timaru. Our task now is to safely transport the fuel to our sites throughout Canterbury. The fuel in our terminal will also be accessed by the industry as we work together to co-ordinate fuel supply in the region.

“Our operational teams have been working closely with structural engineers to get all of our facilities operational again as soon as possible. The team have worked incredibly hard to achieve this and it is a great credit to them.

“We will also continue to truck supplies from Timaru in an effort to replenish stocks as fast as possible. A ship was diverted to Timaru and fuel started off-loading on February 23 night. Trucks were scheduled to be at the terminal to ensure deliveries would be undertaken as fast as possible. This process will continue.”

He said more ships are expected to arrive so that fuel supplies will be quickly delivered to the region.

“We stress that there is enough fuel in the region and we urge people to only buy what they need. It will take a few days to replenish stocks at retail and truck stop sites. We ask that people only buy what they need to avoid placing unnecessary pressure on the system which may cause short-term outages at sites.”

The company added that most of its stations have reopened and are supplying fuel to motorists again.