New Zealand places no minimum stockholding obligation on industry. Until the recent acquisition of government owned-ticket reservations, New Zealand relied on the industry's normal stockholding practices to meet the country's overall minimum 90-day obligation as a member of the IEA.
From 1 January 2007, the New Zealand government acquired ticket reservations for stocks held in other IEA member countries, representing some 3.7 mb of public stocks in 2007, and some 2.1 mb in 2008. With domestic crude production expected to rise to 75 kb/d in 2009 (up from 18 kb/d in 2006), New Zealand's net imports are expected to drop significantly. As such, it is hoped that New Zealand will not have to rely on tickets in order to meet its IEA stockholding obligations in the short to medium term as normal commercial stocks will suffice.
All tickets are held directly by the New Zealand government, rather than through an agency on the government's behalf. The public stocks held in other countries are a mix of refined product stocks (the majority of which is in the form of gasoline) and crude oil.
New Zealand has formal bilateral stockholding agreements with Australia, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and has held stock reservations in each of these countries in the past two years. In an IEA coordinated emergency action, these stocks held outside of the country may be released onto the global market. If needed domestically, the stocks can be purchased and transported directly or swapped with stock held closer to New Zealand in order to reduce transport costs and delivery time.
