Nor just WOW.
ANY business can make a 'profit' under an agreement of cost plus a margin. How is this relevant at all? Who is going to sign an agreement like that?
Look, you could give the refinery away free, to operate under a new structure with NO debt and then negotiate new agreements as both parties mutually agree too, (that's how agreements work) and it would still not be able to generate profit just like most Refineries in the world right now. And I doubt it could over the cycle.
Profit is a measure of how efficiently the company can import oil and refine and distribute here vs the same company owner being able to send oil to a Asian refinery and ship product here and distribute.
The oil companies would have no interest in shutting down the Refinery if it was profitable under any agreement. They would change the agreement.
Your argument is that the oil companies could give Refining NZ an above market fee and then they would be profitable. I'm beginning to think this is a wind up!
Cost plus a margin!
While they're at it why don't they start manufacturing cars as well at Refining NZ all we need is an agreement where someone pays us out manufacturing costs plus a margin and we'll be profitable.
I'll be happy to start a business to manufacture anything of your choice if you'll agree to pay my costs plus a margin, hell forget the margin just pay my costs. Forget the profit at lest we'd generate jobs and would be fun for me.
Have your lawyer draw something up, maybe you'll supply my capital to?
Regarding the capacity, I said without the Marsden Point terminal we don't have the import capacity currently, but with it we do. So I mean without the Refinery but using the Jetty and Pipeline we have plenty of import capacity. We have already run the country on full import this year, granted with reduced demand.
So the option as you say of shutting down the whole operation is not viable, you need the terminal and pipe.