N.Z. well placed for petrol

Press, 29 February 1984, Page 8

N.Z. well placed for petrol

PA Wellington New Zealand would not be badly placed if fuel supplies from the Middle East were cut off by the escalation in the war between Iran and Iraq. Fuel stocks are high and less than a quarter of its requirements come through the Strait of Hormuz, now threatened by the Iran-Iraq war. New Zealand’s stocks now stand between 90 and 100 days, close to the maximum possible and in line with international recommendations. The Ministry of Energy’s assistant director of liquid fuels, Mr Alan Jenkins, said yesterday that only about 22 per cent of New Zealand’s

fuel needs were shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier this month, Iran threatened to close off the strait to oil tankers as renewed heavy fighting began with Iraq. The threat has been taken seriously in the West. Much of New Zealand’s fuel requirements come from Singapore, Australia, and Indonesia. Mr Jenkins said that a closing of the Strait of Hormuz would ripple through to world markets and prices could be expected to rise. But unless the closing was fairly prolonged it would not have a big effect on New Zealand.

Fighting, page 10