How secure is Australia's fuel supply? | The Business | ABC NEWS

Australia has enough fuel for now, but there are big questions about our fuel security in the coming months. Australia imports 90 per cent of the fuel we use. Most of it comes from Asia, with South Korea, Singapore and India our biggest suppliers of refined fuels, including petrol, diesel and jet fuel. Most of the crude oil that's still refined in Australia comes from Malaysia and Brunei. China and South Korea have already started curbing the export of refined fuel products to keep more for their own citizens, and Malaysia says it might as well. Singapore's foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan says "the entire global economy has been taken hostage and we will all pay a price for the hostilities."

Energy minister Chris Bowen has said only six fuel shipments to Australia, due after mid-April, have been cancelled or deferred. That's out of an average of 81 per month. The conflict has taken out about one in five barrels of oil from global supply. The longer that continues the more expensive things get. Australia can afford to compete, by paying higher prices. while poorer countries have fewer choices. ANZ senior commodities analyst Daniel Hynes said "Australia has a really strong track record around that, delivering into contracts. And I think that holds our stance within the global energy markets in a fairly high level."

Another point of leverage is liquified natural gas. Australia produces far more than we use and are among the largest exporters in the world. Some of the countries that send fuel to Australia, need our LNG, so there could be some hard bargains to be driven.
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