Why officials are 'reasonably confident' of avoiding fuel supply shocks
New Zealand officials express confidence in the country's fuel supply chain stability despite ongoing global geopolitical tensions. The government has established a multi-agency response group to monitor risks, particularly regarding reliance on Asian markets and potential disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Why it matters
Energy security is a critical national interest for countries like New Zealand that lack domestic refining capacity and rely on just-in-time global supply chains.
Regardless of the uncertainties surrounding the Iran war and the US administration, New Zealand officials six months on are hopeful - confident, even - that supply chains will hold. In the first of this two-part series RNZ political reporter Russell Palmer sits down with MBIE's Iain Cossar.
"Reasonably confident" is how New Zealand's top fuel official rates the country's chances of avoiding fuel shortages.
It's a remarkable shift considering the level of exposure for New Zealand which Iain Cossar says is among the highest in the world.
"As far as markets go, we couldn't be probably more. We were probably one of the most exposed to a Hormuz closure and were rightly quite worried about what that might mean for actual supply."
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