New Zealand's July-September gas production fell on the year for the eighth consecutive quarter, diverging from industrial gas demand, while gasoline imports rose and crude production dropped, data from the country's business, innovation and employment ministry (MBIE) show.
Net gas production fell by 16pc on the year to 25.5PJ (681mn m³) in July-September, down from 30.2PJ a year earlier, data from the MBIE's New Zealand Energy Quarterly show. The country's gas stocks also fell by 2.4PJ over the same period, indicating a drawdown of inventories.
New Zealand's conservative government also launched a procurement process for an LNG import terminal in October.
Industrial users consumed 10.3PJ of gas over the quarter, up by 14pc on the year, largely because of the restart of Canadian methanol producer Methanex's 1.72mn t/yr Motunui plant. Methanex idled its plant in August–October 2024 and May–early July 2025 to support gas-fired power generation. The site has operated normally since then.
New Zealand's gas-fired electricity generation fell in July-September. Utilities burned 7PJ over the quarter, down from 9.2PJ a year earlier, because of strong renewable generation. The country's hydroelectric and geothermal generation rose by 23pc and 6.5pc on the year, respectively.
New Zealand's gasoline imports rose by 7.4pc on the year in July-September (see table).
New Zealand also restarted oil and gas exploration in September, and extended permits for the 5,600 b/d Maari oil field for a decade in August.
| New Zealand energy production and imports | b/d | ||||
| Jul-Sep '25 | Apr-Jun '25 | Jul-Sep '24 | q-o-q ± % | y-o-y ± % | |
| Gasoline imports | 49,972 | 50,531 | 46,516 | -1.1 | 7.4 |
| Diesel imports | 65,093 | 67,306 | 61,411 | -3.3 | 6 |
| Jet fuel imports | 28,406 | 28,923 | 28,884 | -1.8 | -1.7 |
| Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) | 15,056 | 13,954 | 15,687 | 7.9 | -4 |
| Gas production (PJ) | 26 | 26 | 30 | -0.9 | -16 |
| Source: New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innnovation and Employement | |||||

