The ongoing Middle East crisis will certainly mean higher bowser prices, but Australia remains fuel secure, Energy Minister Chris Bowen says.
The US war with Iran continues to cause chaos in the Strait of Hormuz, with fuel supplies further impacted by a drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, prompting global oil prices to surge.
“The situation in Saudi Arabia was concerning,” Bowen told reporters on Saturday at his weekly fuel update.
A pipeline used to move about four per cent of the world’s oil supplies across Saudi Arabia has been damaged, impacting an alternative route.
Bowen said next week he would fly to Saudi Arabia for consultations with Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz on the flow of oil to refineries around the world.
Meanwhile, the government would maintain flexibility in the domestic fuel market by extending the temporary reduction of the baseline Minimum Stockholding Obligation for petrol and diesel until January 31, 2027.
Commonwealth Bank commodities experts estimate oil markets have five to 10 weeks before global oil and refined product inventories deplete.
That could send the cost of oil to as much as $US150 a barrel and fuel up another 40 cents a litre, according to AMP chief economist Shane Oliver.
“If the East-West pipeline remains shut and the flow of oil remains limited through the Strait of Hormuz … you can’t keep running down global oil reserves forever,” he told AAP.
“Eventually, the world would have to adjust to a lower supply.”
Average retail petrol prices across major Australian capital cities over recent days have hovered between $2.00 and $2.35 per litre for regular unleaded.
Extracted in full from: https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/australia-news-live-updates-iran-says-it-has-struck-oil-tanker-in-hormuz-20260919-p60yq8
