Most of the “NZ oil” used in cars, trucks and planes today is imported refined fuel, mainly from large refineries in Asia and the wider Asia–Pacific region, while New Zealand’s own crude oil mostly comes from Taranaki but is exported rather than used here.

Quick Scoop: Where NZ Oil Comes From

  • New Zealand used to refine imported crude at Marsden Point, which supplied about 70% of the country’s fuel; most of that crude came from the Middle East.
  • Marsden Point stopped refining in 2021 and now operates only as an import terminal, so NZ has effectively moved to a nearly 100% refined-fuel import model.
  • Refined petrol, diesel and jet fuel are now brought in from refineries in places like Singapore, Australia, South Korea and the Americas.

Local NZ oil (Taranaki)

  • NZ does produce its own crude oil from fields in the Taranaki Basin, including Maui, Maari, Pohokura, Kupe and others.
  • Production is relatively small (only a few thousand barrels per day compared with much higher domestic consumption), and most of this high‑quality “sweet, light” crude is exported because it fetches a premium price overseas.
  • The former Marsden Point refinery was not designed to process much of NZ’s own crude, which is a big reason it was exported even when the refinery was operating.

Big picture in 2020s

  • New Zealand’s crude oil production has declined from peaks in the 2000s and sits at a low single‑digit thousand barrels per day, while oil product consumption is over 100 thousand barrels per day equivalent.
  • That gap is covered by importing refined fuels rather than crude, tying NZ’s fuel security closely to international shipping routes and Asia–Pacific refining capacity.

So when you fill up in NZ, the fuel almost always started as crude somewhere overseas, was refined in large regional hubs (especially Singapore/Asia–Pacific), then shipped in as finished petrol, diesel or jet fuel, while NZ’s own Taranaki crude mostly sails out to foreign refineries.

TL;DR: NZ oil in your tank is mostly imported refined fuel from Asia–Pacific refineries; local Taranaki crude exists but is small and largely exported, especially since Marsden Point stopped refining.

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