PERTH, (Australia): Several hundred Australian fuel stations are out of either petrol or diesel despite Australian ministers assuring the public the market is well supplied, local media reported on Tuesday (March 24).
New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, has 165 stations without diesel and 298 without at least one type of petrol, The Sydney Morning Herald said on March 24, as consumers stock up amid the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.
Energy minister Chris Bowen confirmed to Parliament that petrol stations in multiple states were facing shortages.
On March 24, Bowen also rolled out another relaxation of fuel standards that would allow more diesel into the market after earlier lowering sulphur standards.
Bowen said the six-month adjustment would lower the “flashpoint” of diesel to 60.5 deg C from 61.5 deg C, which would increase supply from Australian refineries and international sources.
“In effect, Australian refineries will now have more flexibility for making diesel and widen the markets from which we source diesel,” he said in a statement.
Bowen has appointed a fuel supply task force that met for the first time on March 24, with the mandate to ensure supply gets to rural areas where it is needed.
The government also released fuel from its reserve and has 30 days of diesel stored.
During an address to the National Press Club in Canberra on March 23, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol called the storage a “solid number” and outlined fuel conservation measures such as working from home, lowering speed limits and limiting business travel.
“We are all working really hard to make sure we maintain that fuel security, whether it be liquid fuel or energy-type fuel like gas, but if it’s difficult to get hold of crude oil, it does become problematic,” Minister for Resources Madeleine King said on March 24.
“But at the moment Australia is very well supplied, and we continue to be so.” - Reuters
