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Summarised by Centrist
New Zealand ministers are monitoring reports that South Korea could restrict fuel exports as the Iran war disrupts global oil markets, raising questions about the country’s fuel security.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said officials had seen the reports but had not received any formal indication that South Korea intends to halt shipments. Energy publication Argus reported that the South Korean government was discussing with refineries whether to impose a ban on oil product exports as the conflict affects shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“I’ve been advised that there is that speculation in the market, both by fuel importing companies here, and obviously, there’s been media coverage,” Willis said.
South Korea currently supplies about 47% of New Zealand’s refined fuel, making it the country’s largest supplier since the closure of the Marsden Point Refinery. New Zealand no longer refines fuel domestically and relies entirely on imports.
Willis said officials from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were monitoring the situation “closely”. She added that fuel importers have “very long-standing relationships” with their Korean suppliers and suggested those relationships could help preserve supply.
The comments came ahead of the first meeting of a new ministerial oversight group tasked with monitoring fuel and supply chain security. Willis said a priority would be ensuring the country had fuel security beyond the roughly 50 days of supply currently held in reserve.
Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones said he had also seen the reports and expected an update from officials. He used the situation to criticise the previous government’s handling of the refinery closure.
“If South Korea decides to introduce some restrictions, they’re just looking after their own interests in a way that the former Labour government didn’t look after our interests when it closed down the refinery,” Jones said.
Former energy minister Megan Woods had previously argued the risk of relying on imports was low, telling Cabinet she did “not propose subsidising the refinery” because the fuel import risk was “small”.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said he had not spoken with South Korean officials about the reports but predicted the conflict with Iran would end soon. “It won’t be very long before it’ll be over. It won’t be months, for example,” Peters said.
