Albanese says Australia's fuel supply is secure despite panic buying

Fuel supply reassurances

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sought to reassure the public that the country's fuel supply remains secure amid surging prices, reports of panic buying and petrol stations running dry since the start 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 told reporters on Friday.

The government says the shortages are being driven by demand and distribution problems rather than a reduction in overall supply, which it says remains at the same level as before the war began.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Australia's supply of petrol, diesel and oil over the next few weeks would be "the same, if not higher, than it normally would be".

Prices and shortages

Australia has seen steep fuel price rises since the US and Israel attacked Iran and the Strait of Hormuz was closed, sending oil prices higher.

According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the average retail price of petrol reached 238 Australian cents a litre on Sunday, up from 171 cents four weeks earlier. In Sydney, the price of diesel rose to 314.5 cents a litre as of Thursday, according to the National Roads and Motorists' Association, the highest level on record.

Hundreds of petrol stations across the country have reported running out of at least one type of fuel this week. There have also been reports of truck drivers and other motorists being stranded, while businesses say rising fuel costs are threatening their viability.

NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said the shortages were linked to changes in consumer behaviour rather than supply itself. He said some people were filling jerry cans and storing fuel in garages, while transport companies were telling drivers to buy diesel whenever they found it, even if their tanks were only half full.

Khoury added that independent petrol stations were struggling to obtain fuel because they do not buy on long-term contracts, which are being prioritised by oil companies.

Government response

Albanese is expected to hold an emergency national cabinet meeting on Monday to work out a response to the fuel crisis.

The government has ruled out rationing so far, but has tried to ease shortages by releasing oil from the national stockpile and lowering fuel standards.

Pressure on the energy market increased further on Thursday after a cyclone in Western Australia triggered outages at the Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG plants. According to Chevron, the two facilities supply about 5% of the global market.