Winston Peters says drivers have right to know if petrol derived from Russian oil

Wednesday, 17 December 2025

Foreign Minister Winston Peters says drivers do have a right to know if the fuel they buy is likely to have been derived from Russian oil, after Z Energy and the country’s four other bulk petrol importers refused or failed to answer the same question.

Drivers had “a right to know the source of their energy” and petrol companies should be providing the information, Peters reiterated.

A spokesperson for Z Energy said, after Peters’ remarks, that it had no further comment.

Z, BP, Mobil, Gull and Timaru Oil Services refused to answer detailed questions on their fuel imports earlier this month, after it emerged that Z had received three shiploads of fuel worth an estimated $100 million over the past 12 months from an Indian refinery notorious for processing oil containing a large proportion of Russian crude.

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The Russian Sanctions Act prohibits importing “directly or indirectly, a coal, oil or gas product of Russian origin into New Zealand”.

But a guidance note on the sanctions issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mfat) in October 2022 gave carte blanche to import such products as long as they were refined outside of Russia. Mfat made clear at the time the guidance was not legal advice.

Despite the issue being reported on previously by The Post and an earlier indication that an Mfat review was under way, Peters indicated he was not familiar with the ministry’s guidance, noting it was published when he was not in government.

“I’m going to go straight from this meeting with you and a look at the guidance,” he said.

Peters said on Wednesday afternoon that had not happened.

“We're so flat out, I haven't got around to doing that.”