Geelong-owned service station chain APCO is moving a record-breaking volume of fuel in a bid to keep petrol flowing across its network.
Drivers in Geelong are still facing shortages at some service stations, with several sites temporarily running out of petrol amid a surge in demand and panic buying.
Reports emerged this week that the APCO service station in Waurn Ponds had run out of petrol on Tuesday, leaving only LPG available.
The price of fuel has skyrocketed due to the conflict in the Middle East, with concerns some drivers are panic buying.
APCO director Peter Anderson said the sudden spike in demand had created chaotic conditions for suppliers trying to keep stations stocked.
“It’s absolute chaos,” Mr Anderson said. “People are just overbuying fuel that they don’t need.
“I understand they’re trying to fill up before the prices go up, because the prices are going up.”
Mr Anderson said 36 tanker loads were expected to be delivered to about 30 sites within the next 24 hours – the largest volume the company had moved in a single day.
“Our supplying companies have been wonderful, Mobil and Viva are doing absolutely everything they possibly can,” he said.
Mr Anderson said stations were selling petrol almost as quickly as it arrived, making it difficult to maintain consistent supply levels.
“I’ve got fuel, I’ve got six tankers going 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we just can’t keep it in the sites,” he said.
As of Wednesday, the average fuel price in Geelong was about 214.9c a litre, while drivers in Melbourne were paying about 224c a litre, according to the Service Victoria app.
The shortages are not limited to one station, with several APCO sites across Geelong and regional Victoria experiencing temporary outages as demand surges.
“All of our sites have been out of fuel at different times,” Mr Anderson said.
“Up in Bendigo and Ballarat, they’ve been out of fuel overnight, and then they get fuel again in the morning.”
Mr Anderson said demand had significantly outpaced deliveries at some sites.
“We’re selling about 70,000 litres a day, and we’re putting in 55 litres,” he said.
“The consumer is just sucking it out of us as fast as we go.”
Australasian convenience and petroleum marketers association CEO Rowan Lee said Geelong’s refinery which supplies 50 per cent of Victoria’s fuel, didn’t play a key part in keeping prices down in the region.
“Geelong’s a very competitive market and it always has been… APCO is a really important player in Geelong and they lead the discounting,” he said.
Last week, Sarah Orr from Compare the Market said local competition and transport costs are key factors to why Geelong has managed to stay under two dollars.
The Victorian Government this week introduced a series of laws that force servos to list what their fuel prices will be the day before.
The set prices will then apply for 24 hours after 6am the following day.
Retailers can reduce their prices but not increase them.
Extracted in full from: https://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/geelong/apco-battles-to-keep-petrol-flowing-in-geelong-amid-absolute-chaos/news-story/8b08cedb25a7abe0d694dbd435069cc0
