Prime Minister Assures Fuel Supply Stability
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reassured Australians that the nation's fuel supply remains "secure" despite soaring prices and reports of panic buying and petrol stations running dry since the onset of the Iran war.
"The longer this war goes on, the greater the impact will be. But we continue to act to prepare and shield Australians from the worst of it,"Albanese said during a press briefing on Friday.
Impact on Transport and Businesses
There have been accounts of truck drivers and motorists being stranded, while businesses report that rising fuel costs are affecting their viability.
The government attributes shortages to demand and distribution challenges rather than supply issues, affirming that fuel supply levels remain consistent with those before the war began.
"For the next few weeks, Australia's supply of petrol and diesel and oil will be the same, if not higher, than it normally would be,"Energy Minister Chris Bowen stated alongside Albanese.
Regional Fuel Availability and Price Increases
In Cairns, Queensland, the BBC identified a small independent garage reflecting a common situation across Australia. The station has depleted its unleaded petrol stock, and diesel prices have surged by 85% compared to pre-war levels.
In New South Wales, the country's most populous state, one in seven fuel retailers report being out of at least one type of fuel.
Australia has witnessed sharp fuel price increases following the US and Israel's attack on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which led to a spike in oil prices.
The average retail petrol price reached 238 Australian cents ($1.64; £1.23) per litre as of Sunday, up from 171 cents four weeks earlier, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.
Meanwhile, diesel prices in Sydney climbed to 314.5 cents per litre as of Thursday, marking the highest price ever recorded, according to the National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA).
Hundreds of petrol stations nationwide have reported running out of at least one fuel type this week.
Causes of Shortages and Consumer Behavior
NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury explained to the BBC that shortages stem from altered consumer purchasing habits rather than supply deficits.
"People are filling up jerry cans of fuel and storing it in their garages,"he said.
"We're hearing increasingly of transport companies telling their drivers that if you're half full and you see diesel, buy it."
Independent petrol stations face difficulties obtaining fuel because they do not engage in long-term contracts, which are prioritized by oil companies, Khoury added.
Government Response and Future Measures
Prime Minister Albanese is anticipated to convene an emergency national cabinet meeting on Monday to formulate a response to the fuel crisis.
The government has so far dismissed any form of fuel rationing but has taken steps to ease shortages by releasing oil from the national stockpile and lowering fuel standards.
Additional Market Pressures
These developments followed a cyclone in Western Australia on Thursday that caused outages at two of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, further straining the global market.
The Gorgon and Wheatstone plants, operated by Chevron, supply approximately 5% of the global LNG market.
