Australia has secured four extra shiploads of diesel via BP and Viva, further strengthening expected supplies through the end of May and early June.
The cargoes carrying an extra 200 million litres of fuel will come from South Korea, Brunei and Malaysia, Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday morning.
The deal comes after the Prime Minister travelled to Brunei and Malaysia last week for talks with their leaders about fuel security amid the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
There are also 61 regular shiploads of fuel on the water at the moment on their way to Australia.
The four new ships are destined for Brisbane, Sydney, Geelong and Perth, and the Government will underwrite the shipments.
“This is extra supply to give us an extra buffer,” Energy Minister Chris Bowen said.
The Government has also got an additional 250,000 tons of fertiliser coming from Indonesia at this crucial point in the cropping cycle.
“I think Australians know they see it on their TV every night that we’re in a very volatile environment, there are different announcements each and every day and sometimes across just a number of hours about what is going on in the Middle East,” Mr Albanese said.
“We can’t control all of that, because we’re not participants in that conflict. What we can control is how we respond, and we’re responding by throwing everything at it, everything at supply, to make a difference.”
Energy Minister Chris Bowen spoke with State and Territory ministers on Tuesday night, working through recommendations that will go to national cabinet when it meets on Thursday.
Mr Albanese anticipated the national cabinet meeting would simply be an update rather than making significant decisions.
He said the longer the Middle East conflict dragged on, the longer the tail of the impact would be.
“The ships that are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz is one issue, but secondly, as well, it’s about … 30 days of travel from the Strait to a destination in Asia, that then has to unload and the ship to go back to be filled again with supply, and then to travel back again,” he said, adding that it was also unclear how much infrastructure damage had happened in the Gulf region.
https://thewest.com.au/politics/australia-strengthens-fuel-supply-with-four-bp-and-viva-diesel-shipments-amid-middle-east-instability-c-22174724
