New Zealand's centre-right coalition government has released a draft plan to make its fuel supply chains resilient and invited feedback from the local stakeholders and industry on the proposals.
New Zealand wants to guard against supply disruptions, improve domestic infrastructure, develop low-carbon fuel alternatives locally and transition to new energy technologies in the next decade. Public submissions on the plan open 15 July and run until 25 August.
Special economic zones have been mooted to provide tailored regulatory areas for developers of biofuels and other alternatives such as hydrogen to ease investment hurdles.
The draft comes after New Zealand pledged to increase legally required fuel reserves and mandate that more jet fuel is kept at Auckland airport — the nation's busiest.
Earlier this year, a government study found that reopening the shuttered 135,000 b/d Marsden Point refinery to ensure fuel supply could cost the country billions of dollars and take years to complete. Instead, it was recommended that the government find alternative solutions to securing supply like increasing in-country reserves and developing biofuels. The Marsden Point refinery supplied about 70pc of New Zealand's fuel requirements before it was transformed into an oil products import terminal in 2022.
As New Zealand's transport sector starts adopting electric vehicles, gasoline consumption will diminish.
Diesel demand will taper off by 2035 while the jet fuel market is expected to grow for the foreseeable future due to a lack of alternatives currently, the draft said. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) could eventually form part of New Zealand's energy mix.
New Zealand's gasoline imports totalled 53,000 b/d in January-March, diesel imports were 71,000 b/d and jet fuel 33,000 b/d, according to the country's business, innovation and employment ministry.
