“The vibe in the room was this is a critical point,” Watts told the Herald.
“The Indo-Pacific is a major growth engine for the world and the heavy reliance on the Middle East, particularly in this region for fuel, is critical.”
Watts said other countries were working to diversify their fuel supply chains. He said he was assured that the supply to New Zealand wasn’t at any immediate risk.
“They conveyed to me a high degree of confidence that their systems and processes are resilient and that they have plans in place to deal with whatever eventuality gets thrown at them.”
Watts acknowledged such assurances were all subject to new developments relating to oil supply or the US-Iran conflict. He said his counterparts didn’t highlight any particular developments which could significantly threaten fuel supply, nor the potential for New Zealand’s supply agreements to be altered.
“We received no indication from those countries that that is something that they’re considering at this point.”
Willis on Monday acknowledged the possibility some countries could turn to Russia to source oil, but would not say what the Government’s stance would be on accepting fuel with links to Russia amid its war with Ukraine.
Watts said the matter was not discussed in his meetings but noted the Government’s sanction regime against Russia.
In light of constrained global supply, Watts said it had prompted countries, particularly the US, to accelerate fuel and fertiliser production infrastructure projects. While they were unlikely to shift the dial in the short-term, Watts believed it would enhance resilience going forward.
“Fertiliser in Australia is a good example, they’ve got a major project that’s coming online in the early part of 2027, which is urea production, which will cover all of Australia’s requirements and stop it from being an import nation and it will have export capability.”
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.
