Australia has stockpiled billions of litres of fuel – more than a month’s supply – as frustrated motorists grapple with rising petrol prices and an explosion in demand.
The country is ‘as prepared as possible’ with 1.6billion litres of petrol or 37 days’ supply, Energy Minister Chris Bowen told reporters on Saturday.
The stockpile includes 2.7billion litres of diesel, or 30 days of supply, and 800 million litres or 29 days of jet fuel.
Global concerns over the US-Israeli-led war in Iran have fanned fears of fuel shortages, leading to regional supply issues and price hikes.
‘We have received all our expected shipping of petrol and diesel that our refineries continue to work, and the supply of petrol has been secure and has been just as expected,’ Mr Bowen said.
‘What we have seen is real and unacceptable shortages in rural and regional areas in particular, as we’ve been dealing with a massive explosion in demand – demand up 100 per cent at every terminal across Australia.
‘This has seen shortages for farmers, for people in regional areas in particular, which the government has been working very hard with the industry to get addressed as quickly as possible.’
The government has moved to ease the pain for motorists, releasing up to 762 million litres of petrol and diesel from emergency reserves to meet regional demand.
Australia has 1.6billion litres of petrol or 37 days’ supply, according Energy Minister Chris Bowen
The war in Iran has skyrocketed fuel prices and rocket its security around the world
NSW will convene an urgent roundtable to address concerns over the impact of the US-Israel-Iran conflict, as its premier urges restraint at the bowsers.
Representatives from transport and logistics, fuel, agriculture, local councils, mining, unions and consumer protection groups will meet with government officials on Monday.
‘Global events are putting pressure on fuel markets around the world and we are making sure NSW is prepared as we can be and well co-ordinated if those pressures continue,’ Premier Chris Minns said.
‘I appreciate this is a stressful time for everyone but it’s important people don’t buy more fuel at the bowser than they need.’
Iran has closed one of the world’s busiest oil corridors – the Strait of Hormuz – in response to the US-led war launched against it, causing a global shortage that has led fuel prices to skyrocket.
Fuel should have already been reserved for the regions, according to Westlink Petroleum managing director Danny Kreutzer, whose Queensland-based company services 500 businesses.
‘We’ve got a lot of angry customers that want their fuel,’ he told AAP.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the country is ‘as prepared as possible’ for the crisis
‘A lot of them have been pretty good to deal with and understand the situation we’re in.
‘Every other fuel distributor in the country, we’re all the same. It’s really impacted our business because we just can’t get the volume we require on a normal day.’
