Fuel security fears spark overseas talks for minister
Australia’s Resources Minister is traveling to Japan to meet with global counterparts about bolstering fuel supplies in the face of oil market chaos caused by war in the Middle East.
The price of Brent crude, the benchmark for US oil, rose above $100 a barrel on Friday (AEDT) following reports that Iran was mining the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade route for oil from the region.
Resources Minister Madeleine King said she will meet with her counterparts from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Timor Leste and other countries at the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Forum, where oil and diesel supplies will be on the agenda.
“I hope to have good discussions about where everyone sits in addressing the fuel supply or demand issues they face in their own countries,” he told ABC TV on Friday morning.
Ms King said increasing supplies of critical minerals and rare earths used in electric vehicle batteries, smartphones and sensitive defense technologies will also be discussed.
Asked whether Australia would face wider fuel shortages if the conflict lasted more than a few weeks, Ms King acknowledged that the longer the war lasted, the harder it would be for the global economy.
“The ripple effects of such a conflict reach everyone’s shores, including Australia’s,” he said.
To support the domestic market with an extra 100 million liters of fuel per month, the federal government has relaxed quality standards for the next 60 days and allowed the use of fuels containing higher levels of sulfur.
The government said quality levels would still remain very high by international standards.
Ms King said Australia was still doing well in terms of global fuel shipments and there was no indication future deliveries would be delayed.
“We have supply. There have been difficulties in some regions due to extraordinary demand, but we have sufficient supply,” he said.
Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume said the government was unfairly accusing drivers of panic-buying petrol when the shortage was caused by wider structural problems, adding that Labor had not guaranteed Australians they would not run out of fuel.
“We’re very pleased that there will be more fuel, especially going into the regions,” he told Seven’s Sunrise program on Friday.
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