Emergency shipment of avgas delayed

Press, 28 March 1980, Page 3

Emergency shipment of avgas delayed

NZPA Washington 1 It may be several weeks before the New Zealand topdressing industry knows; whether it will get a vital shipment of aviation fuel' from the United States. j The final decision on approval for the 10.000-tonne shipment may have to be made by President Carter. .) The delay is bad news for New Zealand, where stocks have fallen to about 2250 tonnes, equal to a month’s) supply, apart from some sub-standard fuel not suit-; able for all aircraft, according to the Under-Secretary of Energy (Mr Brill). Avgas is a. prohibited export from the United States, and special approval I

for the emergency .shipment was given by the American Departments of Energy and Commerce in January.'

; But a chain of unexpected (events, including a fire .at lone refinery, and a strike at I another, prevented a tanker’s being loaded. ■ ' When it was ready to) start loading on March 21';) |the export licence was with-' (held at the last minute, ■mainly because the.refinerv .fire, which knocked out 28.5 per cent of the. United | States annual production, I had caused an acute short(age of avgas.

Oil company and Depart-' ment of Energy officials met! in Washington yesterday to) ■discuss the situation.! (Sources said they were trying to see whether the American shortfall could be! made up. ; If it can, the export li-| cence for 196,000 barrels of avgas, destined for New) Zealand, Australia, Papua-) New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands, will probably be approved. If it cannot, the question will go to President Carter, sources in Washington said. The State Department has recommended that approval be given for the shipment, citing New Zealand’s position as a close ally of the United States and saying its economy is endangered by

ithe avgas shortage. I But the Energy Departement says it cannot sanction |an exception' to the avgas ! export ban while American I farmers are also suffering a (shortage. ’ (. Yesterday’s meeting broke (up with no announcement, (and sources said it could be (at least two weeks before a decision was made.

If the issue ends up on I the President’s desk, the I New Zealand Government (would, certainly • also interivene at, the highest level. (The original request for an (emergency shipment was j made by the Deputy Prime {Minister (Mr Taiboys) late (last year when it became (apparent that there would be i a severe shortage in mid1 1980 because of disrupted (supplies fram Iran. i The matter was raised on (Wednesday when -Mr Btill (met officials in Washington. (He urged the early approval lof the shipment, saying the United States had made a commitment to New Zealand before its own shortage developed. In Wellington, the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) said the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr Taiboys) was sending a message to the United States Secretary' of State (Mr Cyrus Vance) seeking his help in getting the shipment for New Zealand.