NEW ZEALAND TO RELEASE 6 DAYS OF FUEL UNDER IEA OIL PLAN

WELLINGTON, March 12 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- New Zealand will release the equivalent of about six days' fuel supply as part of a coordinated move by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the government said Thursday, reported Xinhua.

The IEA has decided to release 400 million barrels of oil from global reserves in a bid to curb soaring prices triggered by the West Asia conflict.

Senior ministers met late Wednesday to review New Zealand's fuel stores and supply chains as part of the government's response, the first session of the new Ministerial Economic Security and Supply Chains Group, set up to coordinate cross-agency planning on energy and trade security.

Associate Minister for Energy Shane Jones said New Zealand, as an IEA member, is obliged to contribute to the release of strategic reserves.

"New Zealand's contribution is equivalent to about six days' fuel supply here. It can make that contribution through measures such as terminating its tickets to make the oil available to the market," Jones was quoted as saying in a press release.

He noted that members of the IEA are required to hold 90 days of oil stocks, and New Zealand holds its stocks, in part, through oil tickets or contracts.

"The government will ensure that the impact on Kiwis is minimised," Jones added, describing the contribution as a "small but significant" effort to stabilise global markets.

Fuel companies in New Zealand reported no significant supply chain issues and that fuel stock levels remain strong, according to the ministerial meeting.

In Riga, Latvia, the Baltic energy ministries announced that Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are ready to release emergency oil stocks to the market.

The three countries, all members of the International Energy Agency (IEA), welcomed the decision by the IEA and its member states to launch a voluntary collective action to use emergency oil reserves.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will now proceed with national decisions on releasing emergency oil stocks to the market, determining the size, timing and other necessary parameters to maximise the positive impact on both the market and consumers and to help manage current oil price increases, said the statement.

According to the statement, IEA member states will take coordinated action to place 400 million barrels of oil, equivalent to about 54 million tonnes of oil, to the market to mitigate the impact of the conflict in the West Asia. The ministries said the collective action is intended to send a strong and united signal to help stabilise the global oil market.

Although the Baltic region's oil security has not been directly affected so far, the ministries warned of wider economic consequences because global energy markets are highly interconnected and react quickly to price signals.

Persistently high oil prices remain a concern for households, businesses and economies across Europe, including in the Baltic states. Given the countries' shared exposure to global oil prices, the ministries stressed that any intervention in the market should be coordinated.

Oil prices have surged after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, which responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and US assets in the West Asia. Several countries have reduced oil production, while tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which about one-fifth of the world's crude oil is shipped, has nearly come to a halt. 

--BERNAMA-XINHUA