Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed a new deal to bring more fuel into Australia, as the government moves to strengthen supply chains that have been on edge for weeks.
Speaking at the Ampol Lytton Refinery in Queensland on Thursday, Albanese said Export Finance Australia had reached an agreement with Ampol and Viva Energy (the nation’s two biggest suppliers) to help ship in extra fuel during the current disruptions.
“This is not business as usual,” he said. “Importantly, this is additional supply here in Australia that they will be able to source. And, as part of this agreement, of course, the government can direct where that supply goes.”
The prime minister said the extra imports would be sent first to regional areas that have faced the worst shortages. He made the announcement before travelling to Singapore, which remains one of Australia’s main sources of refined fuel.
A government safety net for supply
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the decision follows recent legislation that gives Export Finance Australia new powers to step in when supply is at risk.
“It would also now enable Ampol and Viva Energy, with an agreement in place on the commercial terms, to go out and buy spot cargoes with the support of the government when they become available,” Bowen said.
The aim is to ensure that Australia can access emergency reserves when global fuel movements are disrupted and that domestic storage can keep up when overseas markets tighten.
The announcement comes as Foreign Minister Penny Wong warns that uncertainty in the Middle East is continuing to cause shockwaves in fuel prices.
“Not only is the ceasefire fragile and it has to hold, even if we see a successful negotiation, we’ve still got a lot of disruption in the system,” she said on Sunrise. “We’ve got the gap in supply. And then we have, from the Strait being closed, the damage to infrastructure in the region, which is obviously affecting supply.”
Wong said she spoke on Wednesday night with her counterparts in Singapore, Korea, Malaysia and Japan about how the countries could coordinate supply through Asia.
“Our partners want to supply us, but we all know what they need is more supply coming through the Middle East and from elsewhere,” she added.
For now, the Australian government is pitching its deal with Ampol and Viva as a safeguard — one that won’t immediately fix prices at the pump, but may stop things from getting worse while the world waits to see if the fragile peace in the Strait of Hormuz holds.
Lead : Getty
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