Source: Radio New Zealand
Petrol and jet fuel stocks have risen, while there has been a slight decrease in diesel stocks.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s latest fuel stocks update showed that as at 11:59pm on Wednesday evening, there were 61.9 days of petrol, 51.5 days of diesel, and 50.1 days of jet fuel.
This is compared to 58.7 days of petrol, 52.2 days of diesel and 46.2 days of jet fuel, in the previous update.
MBIE said the update showed national fuel stocks were stable, with sufficient stock levels.
“Movements remain within expectations and show normal patterns,” the ministry said.
The update showed there were 27.2 days of petrol in-country, 17.5 days of diesel, and 25.5 days of jet fuel.
There were four ships on the water in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, containing 3.2 days of petrol, 8.2 days of diesel, and 1.2 days of jet fuel.
A further twelve ships were on-water outside the EEZ, with 31.5 days of petrol, 25.8 days of diesel, and 23.4 days of jet fuel.
The government told media it remained gravely concerned about the trajectory of the Middle East conflict and its impact on the global economy, which shows no signs of ending.
Willis speaks to media
Finance Minister Nicola Willis told media the government hadn’t heard about any material problems from fuel importers, meaning the country could remain in phase one of its fuel crisis response.
“We’re continuing to work very closely with fuel importers on a daily basis to check with them whether they’re seeing any disruption to orders they already have, or to future orders. They continue to report that ships are leaving normally, that orders are being fulfilled and that they’re not having challenges,” she said.
Willis said fuel importing companies had given assurances that orders were not being cancelled or diverted to other countries.
“These are long standing customer relationships that they have with these businesses, and those businesses are seeking to be reliable. However, it is the case that we are anticipating there could be a scenario where those refinery companies are no longer able to fulfil orders, and they declare what’s called force majeure, they cancel a contract at short notice,” Willis said.
“It’s preparing for that potential eventuality that has prompted us to put the fuel response plan in place, and it’s why we are taking rapid measures to get increased amounts of fuel into the country so that we have more of a buffer should that occur.”
As the update is backward-looking, it does not include what the potential impacts of Easter weekend may have been on stocks.
Willis said there had been evidence of a big increase in demand in part of March, which had since calmed down as people first stocked up and then moved to other measures like car-pooling and public transport.
She had heard “a range of different anecdotes” about Easter usage, but not enough to have data to put to.
“In terms of what people have seen over Easter, I’m sure it is the case that some families have unfortunately put off road trips, chosen to stay close to home because of the price of fuel. And I will be looking at that data as soon as we have it, to understand how this Easter looks compared to last Easter,” she said.
“One of the areas that the fuel importing companies have agreed to cooperate with us more closely on in future is sharing that demand data, because obviously, if we were to move to a phase two, we’d want to know whether any restraint measures were having material impact. So having that data and monitoring it is going to be very useful for our work going forward.”
While it was unlikely the government would pause petrol taxes or road user charges, Willis said it was “very unlikely” the government would go ahead with a planned 12 cent per litre increase to fuel taxes next January.
While no formal decision had been made, the government would need to legislate in order to cancel the planned tax increase. Willis said it would mean the government had less revenue for road maintenance and construction, but it was conscious that New Zealanders could ill-afford an increase at this time.
No sign of war’s end
The government is giving the latest update on fuel stocks, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of ending.
Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s reaction to close off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping has sent the global energy industry into turmoil.
New Zealand relies on imports of refined fuel, with no local refining capability.
The government has previously downplayed concerns of shortages, but has set up a National Fuel Plan with different levels of potential rationing should supplies begin to dry up.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
