Australian government plans for ‘worst-case scenario’ retail fuel rationing, documents reveal | Energy

The federal government has outlined plans to ration retail fuel, according to documents from the International Energy Agency, which warned on Friday that oil markets would enter the “red zone” by August.

One of the options outlined by the government to stem the local fuel supply shortage, contained in documents obtained by the Guardian Australian under freedom of information, is to impose a “daily maximum transaction value per vehicle”, a rationing rule that limits how much fuel a single vehicle can buy from a service station in a 24-hour period.

The report card was not required and the government said it did not expect it to be required as the March plan was a “worst case scenario”. But there is now expected to be increasing pressure on international fuel supplies, with the International Energy Agency warning on Friday that oil markets will enter the “red zone” by August as stocks dwindle due to export shortages from the Middle East.

Documents from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEW) show government officials have options for rationing if management of the fuel by the oil industry (highlighted as the government’s first choice) falls short.

The documents cover the period between February 21 and March 17 and cover the early stages of the Iran war after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28.

Under the Liquid Fuels Emergency Act, federal energy minister Chris Bowen can declare a liquid fuels emergency (LFE) with powers to divert fuel supplies and even ration them in extreme cases.

Even at the height of the crisis, Bowen and prime minister Anthony Albanese publicly rejected the need for fuel rationing.

Bowen said on 26 March that the liquid fuel contingency plan, which has been in place since 2006 and discusses rationing-based measures such as a ban on jerrycans, was “just a guide” and that the government “isn’t going to do it that way”.

Other countries have taken various measures to address the fuel crisis, including limiting purchases and asking citizens to reduce travel. According to IEA. The Australian government has asked people to consider voluntary measures such as using public transport.

According to notes taken at the March 13 meeting of the National Petroleum Supply Emergency Committee (Nosec), representatives from Victoria were interested in “thinking about what rationing will look like in the future”. One participant, whose details have been redacted, asked to “think about what the demand report card might look like and the messaging around that.”

The meeting agreed that DCCEEW would “consider studying how rationing under the LFE declaration would work and what messaging might look like in a future worst-case scenario.”

Other documents were refused publication, including the cabinet document “Triggers to support liquid fuel security” and the Executive Council document on regulations for liquid fuel emergencies.

By March 17, Nosec was advancing discussions regarding rationing. The executive summary of that meeting stated that “discussions will begin next week regarding planning for fuel rationing/restrictions, signaling and addressing hesitations to ease public panic.”

As early as March 9, documents from a fuel group indicate fuel rationing was among the options “to respond to supply disruptions.” The heavily redacted document highlights the minister’s powers under the Liquid Fuels Emergency Act; These include rationing – “limiting the amount of fuel users can purchase” – or directing fuel suppliers to provide fuel supplies for certain users.

The government has increased its stocks since the start of the crisis, supplying 600 million liters of diesel and 100 million liters of jet fuel for 14 additional cargoes from Singapore, China, Brunei and other countries. The budget also included a $10 billion fuel safety package.

Another document, otherwise largely redacted, titled Background to the National Oil Emergency Demand Constraint Strategy, discusses possible settings for “regulated retail rationing.”

He suggests that in the event of a severe fuel shortage, controls could be introduced “on bulk or retail sales of petroleum products and customer demand-side management responses” in the hope of “ensuring that other users have oil supplies for as long as possible”.

The document states that the government’s preference is for industry to respond to a fuel emergency in the first instance, before the minister’s direct supply mandate is legislated.

“Depending on the severity of the emergency and its expected/actual duration, people’s fuel consumption may be restricted for certain periods of time,” the statement reads.

“Compulsory controls are expected to be introduced only if market-based measures do not achieve the desired results.”

State and territory governments, as well as the oil industry and “other key stakeholders” will also be consulted and contribute to such measures.