WELLINGTON, Jan. 3 - The New Zealand government has announced it has met an international obligation to keep stocks of oil in reserve to meet emergencies.
Under rules set by the International Energy Agency, New Zealand is required to hold 90 days worth of oil use in reserve, in case of a crisis.
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said on Saturday that this obligation has been achieved for 2010.
However, the actual quantity being stored is much less than before.
New Zealand is producing more oil from its own oil wells than it did, so it needs to keep less in tanks.
Brownlee said in a statement that domestic production has reduced the cost of storage to less than a fifth of what it was three years ago.
The emergency oil was originally intended to be held in New Zealand, but the previous Government negotiated to hold it in tanks in Australia, Japan, Britain and the Netherlands, to reduce the cost.
Under rules set by the International Energy Agency, New Zealand is required to hold 90 days worth of oil use in reserve, in case of a crisis.
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said on Saturday that this obligation has been achieved for 2010.
However, the actual quantity being stored is much less than before.
New Zealand is producing more oil from its own oil wells than it did, so it needs to keep less in tanks.
Brownlee said in a statement that domestic production has reduced the cost of storage to less than a fifth of what it was three years ago.
The emergency oil was originally intended to be held in New Zealand, but the previous Government negotiated to hold it in tanks in Australia, Japan, Britain and the Netherlands, to reduce the cost.
