11 Mar 2022

Energy Minister Megan Woods on NZ's fuel security

From Nine To Noon, 9:05 am on 11 March 2022

Earlier this week Nine to Noon looked at the big change on the way to how we get fuel into, and around, New Zealand.

After nearly 60 years, the Marsden Point Refinery will shut down its processing units and become an import-only terminal from next month.

It means New Zealand will be reliant on tankers bringing refined oil products into the country - a report from Z Energy estimated 175 tankers would visit each year.

Amid this fundamental change to our fuel processing capability comes Russia's attack on Ukraine, and the impact it's having on global oil supply and pricing.

New Zealand is party to an agreement which saw it support the release of 60 million barrels of emergency oil stocks, in order to ease uncertainty in the market.

But how we store our own emergency reserves will also have to change because of the transition at Marsden Point. Energy Minister Megan Woods joins Kathryn to discuss.

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Photo: RNZ, AFP, 123RF