Fuel will still make it to NZ, but we’re going to pay more for it, says Shane Jones

Thursday, 19 March 2026

New Zealanders are being warned to brace for higher fuel prices as escalating conflict in the Middle East disrupts global oil markets, with Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones signalling the impacts will be enduring.

Jones, who has responsibility for fuel security and sits on the Government’s Ministerial Economic Security and Supply Chains Group, said global disruption linked to the conflict was forcing refineries to rethink where they source crude.

Speaking to Ryan Bridge, he warned “what we are witnessing is going to turn into a structural level of disruption,” adding that while supply chains could adjust, “it takes a while to restructure, realign supply lines.”

Jones said refineries in Asia would likely shift sourcing as prices rise, but “sadly, that is going to translate into higher oil prices.”

He said while tankers are still on their way to New Zealand and supply remains stable for now, the global realignment would come at a cost.

“We must brace ourselves for an increased cost of fuel in New Zealand through no fault of our own,” he said.

Reassuring motorists, Jones said “we do need to remind ourselves that we have enough fuel,” noting there is “a great deal of fuel on the water in ships coming to New Zealand” and officials had not been told of any cargo being diverted.

“We’ve never been advised that a ship has been turned around because some other character wants to pay more for the oil on that ship.”

But he warned New Zealand’s position at the end of global supply chains made it vulnerable.

“We are at the end of the railway track,” he said, adding the priority was to ensure “price aside, we don’t become crippled through an absence of fuel.”