Fuel supply drops by three days, but PM says no change needed for fuel plan
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
In-country diesel and petrol stocks remain stable, but a three day drop in fuel on the way to New Zealand meets the criteria to review the National Fuel Plan.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the drop in fuel stocks, which was in-part due to a ship delay, did not require a move up to “Phase 2” of the National Fuel Plan.
A move to Phase 2 would see the Government work more closely with companies and agencies to ensure fuel was getting to the places it needed to be. It would mark the start of “precautionary” action to conserve fuel. Luxon said there was no need to move to that stage yet.
“Our fuel importers continue to report no material issues with future orders of future shipments,” Luxon said.
Luxon acknowledged the latest update did meet one of the criteria for reviewing the National Fuel Plan, but said ministers agreed with the officials’ assessment that fuel supplies were stable.
“We are staying at Phase 1 of the National Fuel Response Plan. But the ceasefire is fragile, and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed - so the risk to New Zealand’s fuel security is still elevated,” he said.
“We’re actively preparing for the possibility that we need to move up in the response phases in the event of widespread shortages. We’re not there yet. We hope to never get there.”
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), which monitored fuel supply, said a small shipment of fuel was delayed due to congestion at ports in Singapore. There were still 13 ships either in New Zealand, or within three weeks of arrival. At the previous update, on Monday, there were 14 ships scheduled.
On Monday, the ministry said there was 59.7 days of petrol in the country, or set to arrive within three weeks. By Wednesday’s update, petrol supply had fallen 3.4 days, to 56.3 days’ worth.
Diesel had dropped by 3.7 days, down from 49.1 to 45.4 days. And jet fuel had also dropped 3.7 days, down from 50.7 to 47 days.
The Fuel Security Ministerial Oversight Group would need to consider a move to the National Fuel Plan phases when New Zealand’s fuel stock levels dropped by more than three days between reports.
In providing the fuel supply update, MBIE described the situation as “stable”, and said they had provided advice to ministers “that an assessment is not required, as these changes do not raise any immediate concerns”.
Wednesday’s update counted fuel stocks as of 11:59pm on Sunday, as the ministry relied on fuel companies self-reporting their stock. The update said there was:
25.3 days of petrol in-country, with another 10.6 days at port or within two days of a port. There was a further 20.4 days of petrol on ships set to arrive within three weeks.
20.8 days of diesel in country, with another 10.8 days at port or within two days of a port. There was a further 13.8 days of diesel on ships set to arrive within three weeks.
21.3 days of jet fuel in country, with another 10 days at port or within two days of a port. There was a further 15.7 days of jet fuel on ships set to arrive within three weeks.
These twice-weekly updates started in response to concerns about supply chain impacts resulting from the Iran war.