New Zealand now gets almost all of its petrol, diesel and jet fuel as already‑refined product imported from large refineries in Asia, mainly South Korea and Singapore.

Quick Scoop: Where NZ fuel comes from

  • Since Marsden Point oil refinery closed in 2022, NZ shifted to an “import‑only” fuel model, bringing in refined fuel instead of crude oil.
  • Most imported fuel now comes from:
    • South Korea – about 48% of the value of fuel imports (12 months to March 2025).
* Singapore – about 33% over the same period.
  • Smaller amounts can come from other Asian suppliers depending on prices and refinery capacity, but Korea and Singapore clearly dominate recent trade data.

How it reaches you

  • Large international oil companies and local fuel firms bring fuel in on tankers to terminals like Northland (ex‑Marsden Point) and other coastal terminals.
  • From there it’s moved by pipeline (especially to Auckland), trucks and coastal shipping to petrol stations, truck stops and airports around the country.

Why Asia, and why now?

  • Big Asian refineries can produce fuel more cheaply and at larger scale than a small domestic refinery, so importing refined product became more economic for NZ.
  • The switch also changes NZ’s energy security risks: instead of depending on crude plus one domestic refinery, NZ now relies on multiple overseas refineries and shipping routes, backed by minimum on‑shore fuel stock requirements in government planning.

Simple takeaway

If you fill up in NZ today, the fuel in your tank was almost certainly refined in Asia—most likely South Korea or Singapore—then shipped here, stored at coastal terminals, and distributed nationwide.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.