NZ joins record release of emergency oil reserves as Strait of Hormuz ships attacked
Thursday, 12 March 2026
New Zealand is giving up six days worth of fuel as part of a massive international release of emergency oil reserves, in a bid to bring down the price of oil amid the war in the Middle East.
New Zealand is a member of the International Energy Agency (IEA) along with 31 other countries, and is obliged to contribute to this release of strategic reserve intended to stabilise the market, Associate Minister for Energy Shane Jones said on Thursday morning.
Members of the IEA are required to hold 90 days of oil stocks. New Zealand holds its stocks, in part, through oil tickets or contracts.
“New Zealand’s contribution is equivalent to about six days’ fuel supply here. It can make that contribution through measures such as terminating its tickets to make the oil available to the market,” Jones said.
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“We should not overlook the fact that we are making a small but significant contribution to protecting global economies and helping to ease the oil price and supply issues around the world.”
The obligation on New Zealand will be to release 1.577 million barrels worth of oil tickets or about 20% of the country’s current oil tickets. Officials were working through which tickets will be released, a spokesperson for Jones said.
New Zealand did not need to release physical supply.
IEA members will not be obliged to repurchase oil tickets until global markets have calmed. This will be a matter for IEA consideration over coming months, the spokesperson said.
The newly established Ministerial Economic Security and Supply Chains Group met for the first time last night to discuss New Zealand’s situation and potential next steps on fuel security in response to the Middle East conflict.
Senior ministers were briefed last night on the decision to release oil reserves.
“By establishing this ministerial group, the Government is taking proactive steps to safeguard fuel supplies, support economic continuity, and enhance New Zealand’s resilience in the face of global volatility,” Jones said
“New Zealanders should be reassured that we are monitoring this very, very closely. When we receive information, we will share that information. If circumstances change, we will swiftly notify the public. There is no need for panic or over-reaction.”
The price of oil has jumped since the war in the Middle East began, and Air New Zealand said on Thursday it will cancel about 1100 flights affecting thousands of passengers through until early May due to jet fuel prices. The airline has also suspended its earnings guidance and increased ticket prices to account for the rise in fuel costs, RNZ reported.
Attacks continue
The Paris-based IEA said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its members’ emergency reserves. It’s a larger stock than the 182.7 million barrels that were released in 2022 by the IEA's 32 member countries in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Without sufficient routes to market and with no more available storage, Middle East oil producers have started to reduce production,' IEA executive director Fatih Birol said. 'And we have seen further attacks and damage to energy and energy-related infrastructure. Refinery operations have also been disrupted, with major implications for jet fuel and diesel supplies in particular.”
IEA member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation.
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In response to US and Israeli strikes, Iran has attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mount.
Iran has effectively stopped cargo traffic in the narrow Strait of Hormuz through which about a fifth of all oil is shipped from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean. It has also targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations, aiming at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end their strikes.
Germany, Austria and Japan said earlier on Wednesday they would release parts of their oil reserves following an IEA request for members to release the record 400 million barrels to help temper energy price spikes due to the Iran war.
Group of Seven energy ministers met Tuesday at IEA headquarters in Paris to look at ways to bring down prices. Birol said afterwards that they discussed all available options, including making IEA emergency oil stocks available to the market.
The IEA reserves were established in 1974 following the Arab oil embargo.
“This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets,” Birol added. 'But, to be clear, the most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Birol said that 15 million barrels per day of crude oil and another five million barrels per day of oil products normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
“This amounts to around 25% of the world’s oil trade via sea. And now the flows of oil, gas and other commodities through the strait have all but stopped.”
The G7 is comprised of the leading industrialized nations of Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Britain. Austria is not a member.
The group's leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, met Wednesday via videoconference to discuss energy issues.
During his introductory remarks, French President Emmanuel Macron praised the IEA decision to release emergency oil stocks, saying it amounted to the equivalent of “20 days of the volume being exported through the Strait of Hormuz.'
The IEA move was prepared at the G7 level, Macron said, noting that the amount pledged by the G7 nations, alone, comprises 70% of the total and that France would contribute 14.5 million barrels.
“I think it’s very important to see as well everything we can do in order to increase our global production,” Macron added.
Germany's economy ministry, Katherina Reiche, said the IEA asked Germany to release 2.64 million tons of its oil reserves. It was not immediately clear how much Austria was releasing.
She said it would take a couple of days before the delivery of the first quantities.
“Germany stands behind the IEA’s most important principle of mutual solidarity,' Reiche said.
The German government also said it will introduce a measure to allow gas stations in Germany to raise fuel prices no more than once a day. The federal government wants to introduce this as quickly as possible, Reiche said.
According to the IEA, export volumes of crude and refined products are currently at less than 10% of prewar levels.
In Austria, starting Monday, price increases at gas stations will be allowed only three times a week, the country’s economy minister said. Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said his country was releasing part of the emergency oil reserve and extending the national strategic gas reserve, adding: “One thing is clear: in a crisis, there must be no crisis winners at the expense of commuters and businesses.”
IEA nations have released emergency stocks on five previous occasions: During the 1990-1991 Gulf War, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, during the Libyan civil war in 2011, and twice after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Birol noted that the situation in natural gas markets is also very challenging, with Asia the most severely affected region.
“There are few options to replace the missing LNG cargoes from Qatar and the Emirates,” he said. 'Global energy supply has been reduced by around 20%.”
Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Associated Press reporters John Leicester and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.