Hundreds of petrol stations across Australia have reported running out of at least one type of fuel this week. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reassured Australians that the country's fuel supply remains 'secure' despite rising prices and panic buying.
'The longer this war goes on, the greater the impact will be. But we continue to act to prepare and shield Australians from the worst of it,' Albanese told reporters on Friday.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen added that supply levels remain the same or higher than normal. However, demand and distribution issues have led to shortages. In Cairns, Queensland, an independent garage reported running out of unleaded petrol and a 85% increase in diesel prices.
In New South Wales, one in seven retailers are out of at least one type of fuel. The average retail price of petrol reached 238 Australian cents per liter, up from 171 cents four weeks earlier. Diesel prices in Sydney have risen to 314.5 cents per liter, the highest ever recorded.
NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury attributed the shortages to changes in buying habits, such as people filling up jerry cans and storing fuel at home. Independent petrol stations are struggling to secure supplies due to long-term contracts prioritized by oil companies.
Albanese is set to hold an emergency national cabinet meeting on Monday to address the crisis. The government has released oil from the national stockpile and lowered fuel standards to alleviate shortages.
On Thursday, a cyclone in western Australia triggered outages at two major LNG plants, Gorgon and Wheatstone, adding further pressure to the global market.