New Zealand to spend NZ$150 million on fuel security
Sydney (28 May)
The New Zealand Government has allocated NZ$150 million (A$124 million) to fuel security projects over the 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years because of ongoing maritime disruptions, it said in its 2026-27 Budget on 28 May.
The Government will use the funding to support future fuel security projects and to help Z Energy – an Ampol subsidiary – import and store 90 million litres of diesel at the Marsden Point refinery from late June or early July.
“Z Energy will procure, own and manage the volume of diesel under the agreement, but the Crown will control its release into the New Zealand market,” New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis said on 28 May.
The final cost of the deal will be based on market prices when the contract takes effect, the Government said at the time. But the Government will pay Channel Infrastructure – Marsden Point’s operator – NZ$1.2 million per month for Z Energy to use its fuel tanks.
New Zealand’s government is not currently considering additional measures to boost jet fuel supplies because importers report no issues with incoming shipments, the country’s Resources Minister, Shane Jones, told Lithos on 29 April.
“[Measures] would be considered only if fuel companies were unable to access supply, and that is not what current information shows,” Jones said.
New Zealand had 35 days’ worth of petrol, 25 days’ worth of diesel, and 32 days’ worth of jet fuel in the country on 24 May, data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) show. It had 32 days’ worth of petrol, 22 days’ worth of diesel, and 30 days’ worth of jet fuel on land on 20 May, according to MBIE.
By Avinash Govind