NZ fuel stocks plump at the moment and supply not an issue
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
There are no supply issues with fuel coming to New Zealand at present - and the country holds slightly more than last week, and comfortably more than the minimum it must retain to meet its international obligations.
That is the upshot of a weekly report out by MBIE this afternoon, which assesses the country’s fuel security situation in the wake of the Middle East conflict.
With at least a fifth of the world’s oil at a standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, and 80% of that destined for Asian refineries that supply New Zealand, questions about how well New Zealand will be able to weather a decrease in supply have been raised.
Amendments in 2023 to the Fuel Industry Act 2020 requires certain of this country’s fuel industry participants to keep a minimum amount of petrol, diesel and jet fuel available if there is a major disruption to our fuel supply.
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Under these rules, fuel importers must hold 28 days’ cover of petrol, 21 days’ cover of diesel and 24 days’ cover of jet fuel.
As at midnight on Sunday, March 8, the industry confirmed to MBIE it had 32.8 days of cover for petrol in the country, and a further 25.2 days cover on the water (in transit to New Zealand); 27.6 days of diesel in the country and a further 22.3 days on the water, and 32.3 days cover of jet fuel, and a further 14.3 days on the water.
In the other words, there are 57.9 days of petrol, 49.9 days of diesel and 46.8 days of jet fuel.
The total stocks were very close to the same as last reported stock levels, MBIE said.
The Government department was actively assessing the fuel security situation following the recent events in the Middle East and was in close contact with fuel companies. It had also convened the Fuel Sector Coordinating Entity under the National Fuel Plan, a group consisting of fuel importers and distributors.
It will continue to receive updated figures from fuel companies each Tuesday and publish them each Wednesday, it added.
International energy programme
New Zealand is a member of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which is also monitoring developments in the region and is in contact with major producers and member states, which includes New Zealand.
The IEA is an autonomous inter-governmental agency linked to the OECD. It was established in 1974 in response to that period’s international oil crisis, and was charged with co-ordinating response measures during oil supply emergencies. Since then, its mandate has broadened to cover energy security, economic development, and environmental protection.
G7 ministers have already met to discuss fuel capacity, as has the IEA, which convened an extraordinary meeting of its member countries to discuss a possible release of oil stockpiles. The 30 members did not take further action at this stage.
Collectively IEA members hold 1.2 billion barrels of oil in reserve and under government obligation they’re required to hold another 600 million barrels.
Today, Brent Oil rose 1.29% to US$88.93, but remains significantly up over the week as stalled tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and large production losses in Iraq take their toll.
Gulf Arab oil producers have cut output because of their struggles to export through Hormuz, and Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned Tuesday that the Iran war will have“catastropic consequences” for the global oil market the longer the war rages.