Ongoing overseas military strikes has revealed Australia has only 34 days of diesel fuel reserves, making it the only International Energy Agency member to consistently fail to meet 90 day stock requirements.
Federal energy minister Chris Bowen said on Monday the nation has only 36 days of petrol supply, 34 days of diesel and 32 days of jet fuel in reserve – a level he says is the highest in 15 years.
These numbers are well below international benchmarks, with the International Energy Agency obligation requiring member nations to have 90 days of fuel in stock in case of a global emergency.
With oil prices spiking to start this week due to ongoing conflict across the Middle East, Bowen told motorists not to rush to service stations to fill up and called on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor for price gouging.
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A major issue with the supply of oil, petrol and diesel is the Strait of Hormuz, which sees around a fifth of global oil supplies pass through the body of water.
Cato Institute scholar Colin Grabow has warned disruptions along the strait will heavily impact many industries due to it being one of the world’s most vital shipping routes for oil and gas.
“The situation in the Strait of Hormuz may mark a turning point in how global supply chains are understood,” Grabow says.
“It has shone a light on a fundamental tension at the heart of globalisation. Efficiency depends on sourcing and production being concentrated in a few locations, but resilience depends on diversification.”
One Nation minister Barnaby Joyce brought up the diesel supply issue in Parliament, saying the federal government calmed issues for the transport industry because there are electric trucks in place.
“Australia has to know that if it all goes to custard how long do we have before our access to diesel for semi-trailers that move food and generators that secure electricity for hospitals and diesel for farming runs out,” he says.
“Tanya Plibersek says it is all OK because we have “electric trucks”. Well, I have not seen an electric semi-trailer in my life so I am a bit concerned about that solution.
“The International Energy Agency says we should have 90 days’ supply and the Parliamentary Library says that the recent report says we have merely 25. If there is a run on supply because of the war in the Middle East, that may be merely days as we have merely two oil refineries left in Australia.”
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