New Zealand's jet fuel stocks have fallen in a new update, but the Government says a change to the response phase isn't yet needed as overall reserves remain stable.
The drop in jet fuel — more than four days in total cover — has hit one of the Government's own trigger points for reviewing its fuel response level, but the Finance Minister said she was confident stocks were within normal bounds.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment data – collected at 11.59pm on Sunday and released at 1pm on Wednesday – showed a slight decrease across all three fuel types compared with the previous update.
The overall measure combines both in-country and on-water data, meaning it included stock from ships that might still be up to three weeks away.
The drop in jet fuel levels has prompted scrutiny, with Finance Minister Nicola Willis confirming the movement of more than three days "caused us to look at our assessment criteria" for fuel alert levels.
Willis said officials had advised her that a shift in the response phase was not required, pointing to additional fuel supplies on the water.
Data showed 58.7 days of petrol cover, 52.2 days of diesel and 46.2 days of jet fuel.
That was down from 59.3, 54.5 and 50.4 days respectively in the update on March 25.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was "still very confident" stocks were "well within our normal bounds".
Meanwhile, in today's data, in-country stocks rose for petrol.
Petrol on the ground climbed from 27.9 to 29.3 days of cover, while diesel edged down from 21.7 to 21.6 days. But jet fuel fell from 25.3 to 22.1 days.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said national fuel stocks remained stable and that the movements were within expectations.
"There is currently no need for New Zealanders to change how they buy fuel."
Refineries in Singapore and South Korea are crucial to New Zealand’s fuel provisions. (Source: 1News)
The ministry said the latest update shows national fuel stocks remained stable with sufficient stock levels across petrol, diesel and jet fuel.
"There is a slight decrease in stock across all three fuel types since the last update on March 30, but movements remain within expectations and show normal patterns."
The jet fuel dip comes as airlines have already begun rescheduling and cutting services in response to rising fuel costs driven by the conflict in the Middle East.
Jet fuel returns to early March levels
The 4.2-day drop in total jet fuel stocks between the two most recent updates exceeds one of the energy officials' trigger points for reviewing its response level.
Police said there had not been a notable rise in fuel-related crime yet, but a senior officer has warned that when there was a supply issue, illegal behaviour could follow. (Source: 1News)
Under the national fuel plan, the Government's Fuel Security Ministerial Oversight Group was expected to consider a shift between response phases when any fuel type moves by more than three days since the most recent published update.
Willis said officials had advised a phase change was not required.
She pointed to 11 days of additional fuel in New Zealand's exclusive economic zone and a further 12 days on the water as reasons for confidence.
Willis said the Government had also held a formal engagement with fuel importing companies the day before, who maintained confidence in their future orders.
Luxon said the three-day threshold was one of six criteria and that the Government had "looked at that quite closely."
New Zealand was currently at phase one of the fuel response.
In-country jet fuel stocks have swung sharply over the past month.
On March 8, onshore reserves sat at 32.3 days of cover.
By March 22, that had fallen to just 20.1 days - a drop of more than a third in two weeks.
The latest data, from March 29, showed a partial recovery to 22.1 days.
At the start of another week, there are more signs the deepening oil crisis will continue to hit Kiwi families hard. (Source: 1News)
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment widened its reporting window for on-water stocks from two weeks to three in late March, making direct comparisons of total figures across the month difficult.
Today's update put total jet fuel at 46.2 days of cover, broadly in line with the 46.8 days on March 8, although the figures were calculated under different methodologies.
The Government was currently operating under phase one of the national fuel plan, which focused on monitoring, easing restrictions to increase supply options, and providing information to fuel consumers to support voluntary reductions in fuel use.
Phase two would involve more active coordination between government and industry and a stronger push for households and businesses to conserve fuel.
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