Latest NZ fuel stocks official data – updated graphs and trends

New Zealand's fuel stocks have come under intense scrutiny since March amid the crisis in the Middle East, with the Government publishing twice-weekly updates.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment publishes snapshots of how many days of supply the country could sustain across each fuel type, all of which is imported into New Zealand.

The charts below show the latest picture.

1News reporters update the graphs when MBIE publishes new data.

Kiwis burn through roughly 8.1 million litres of petrol, 10.7 million litres of diesel and 4.8 million litres of jet fuel daily. These estimates factor into "days' cover" calculations.

The data tracks how many days of petrol, diesel and jet fuel the country has available at average consumption rates, split between fuel onshore and fuel on inbound ships.

Stock levels fluctuate from week to week as fuel is consumed and new shipments arrive, and as ships are enroute up to three weeks away from New Zealand.

Energy officials have said these movements in the data typically reflect normal supply and shipping patterns rather than signs of disruption.

In-country stocks can decline over short periods as fuel is distributed and consumed around the country before being replenished by incoming imports.

Fuel tanks are not kept at full capacity at all times, and this is how fuel companies manage their daily business.

In the past several months, a major war between the US, Israel and Iran has disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's seaborne oil normally passes, triggering the biggest global energy supply shock since the 1970s.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has cautioned that public ship tracking services using automatic identification system data did not provide a reliable picture of fuel supply movements.

"These are generally most reliable when vessels are operating in or near coastal waters, where ground-based receivers provide stronger coverage and ships are closer to ports.

"Further offshore, automatic identification system coverage relies on satellite data, which can be delayed or intermittent and is often restricted or unavailable in free or open source tracking services.

"As a result, free ship tracking tools usually only display vessels close to shore and may show limited information, such as only the next port of call (for example, Fiji), even where this is just a stopover on the way to New Zealand.

"Automatic identification system data also does not confirm a vessel’s cargo, and reported routes and timings can change due to weather, port congestion, or loading and unloading requirements.

"While helpful as a reference, publicly available automatic identification system data does not provide a complete, consistent, or verified picture of fuel supply movements," a ministry spokesperson said.

But a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment spokesperson said the ministry would not publish ship-level consignment details, saying fuel importers had provided the information in confidence.

"Protecting this confidentiality ensures we continue to get the most detailed system-wide information possible," they said.

Longer-term rends in the data should be read with a caveat.

When the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment began publishing updates in mid-March, on-water stocks only counted vessels due to arrive within two weeks.

The ministry later expanded that horizon to three weeks, meaning ships further from New Zealand were brought into the tally.

The change means on-water figures from late March onward are drawn from a wider pool than earlier updates, and overall totals across the period are not strictly like-for-like.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's reporting splits on-water fuel into two categories.

Fuel within New Zealand's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) — which stretches 200 nautical miles from the coast — covers ships that are unloading, waiting at berth, moving between ports, or entering the zone from international waters.

Fuel outside the exclusive economic zone refers to vessels that have departed their loading port but have not yet entered New Zealand waters.

The ministry began publishing the updates in March after convening the fuel sector coordinating entity under the national fuel plan, which increased oversight of imports.

The entity was activated following events in the Middle East that prompted concerns about potential disruptions to global oil supply chains.

New Zealand imports all of its refined fuel.

According to economic consultancy Infometrics, South Korea provides the largest share of New Zealand's fuel imports, contributing 48% of the value of fuel imported over the 12 months to March 2025, followed by Singapore at 33%.

That makes the country dependent on international supply chains that stretch back through refineries and loading terminals in Asia and the Middle East.

Most of the fuel processed by Asian refineries flow through the Strait of Hormuz.

Around 20% the world’s oil shipments travel through the chokepoint, and the disruption has already pushed fuel prices higher internationally which has flowed onto New Zealand.

When conflict escalated in the Middle East in early March, it raised the prospect of disruptions at or near some of the world's busiest oil shipping routes.

The New Zealand Government has repeatedly said there is no need for Kiwis to change how they buy fuel, and importers have reported no material issues with shipments.

The ministry has had to adjust its own reporting as the situation evolved

It expanded the on-water reporting window from two weeks to three, began splitting on-water stocks into fuel inside and outside the exclusive economic zone, and started naming individual vessels — all in response to demand for more detail.

For now, officials say the supply chain is functioning normally.

But as long as the crisis in the Middle East continues, the updates will too.