Source: Radio New Zealand
A file photo of a British Airways plane being refuelled. AFP / NurPhoto / Mateusz Wlodarczyk
There are concerns some Asian countries are beginning to hoard jet fuel as the Iran conflict drags on.
News outlet Bloomberg has reported the South Korean government is discussing whether to redirect export-bound jet fuel to the domestic market amid mounting supply pressures.
South Korea is a major source of refined fuel imports to New Zealand, providing around half of the country’s fuel, and South Korea itself relies heavily on crude oil imports from the war-disrupted Middle East.
Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said some Asian refineries were now running short of crude oil feedstock, and airlines were being asked to carry more fuel for their return flights.
“This affects all categories of refined product – diesel is high-profile, petrol [as well],” Eckhold said. “But it’s also quite relevant for jet fuel, particularly South Korea which is a relatively important refiner of jet fuel,” he said.
Eckhold said anecdotal reports from Asia suggest that some airlines were also being asked to carry enough fuel for their return flights.
“Philippine Airlines were apparently asked to do that by a couple of countries … that have apparently advised flights that they should not expect to be able to get a lot of jet fuel when they arrive, because they’re obviously trying to conserve the stocks that they already have,” he said.
“What most countries are doing here is they are trying to prioritise enough stock so that they could operate their domestic schedules and their flagship international airlines.”
He said that would be the priority here, with Air New Zealand and Jetstar already announcing plans to refine schedules in response to the crisis.
Eckhold said even the west coast of the United States was not immune, because it got most of its jet fuel from South Korea.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
