Crude Petroleum Production Falls

New Zealand Energy Statistics: June 2000 quarter

The level of crude petroleum production in New Zealand decreased by 11.1 per cent in the June 2000 quarter. The amount produced fell from 334,000 tonnes in June 1999 to 297,000 tonnes in June 2000, according to Statistics New Zealand.

Production for the year ended June 2000 was 1.27 million tonnes, 13.1 per cent less than in the June 1999 year. In comparison, crude petroleum production was at its highest level in the June 1994 year, when production reached 1.88 million tonnes.

In the June 2000 quarter the volume of petrol refined in New Zealand was 368,000 tonnes, 12.9 per cent more than in the June 1999 quarter. The volume in the year ended June 2000 was 1.42 million tonnes, a decrease of 4.1 per cent compared with the June 1999 year.

Production of gas reached 242,645 terajoules in the year ended June 2000, a 9.9 per cent increase compared with the June 1999 year, and the highest annual production to date. In the June 2000 quarter production was 14.3 per cent higher than in the same quarter in 1999. Increased use of gas in thermal electricity generation has contributed to the rise.

The Fuel Price Indexes show that bulk petrol prices for commercial users rose 4.8 per cent between the March and June 2000 quarters. Compared with the year ended June 1999, bulk petrol prices had risen 23.9 percent. Diesel prices rose 7.0 per cent and 41 per cent for the same periods.The June quarter showed the fourth quarterly rise in the price indexes for petrol and diesel. Rising world oil prices and the declining value of the New Zealand dollar contributed to the increase.

Ian Ewing Deputy Government Statistician

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