Australia secures 100 million litres of additional fuel from Brunei and South Korea to deal with oil crisis

Australia has secured 100 million litres of additional diesel from Brunei and South Korea using new strategic reserve powers, with the Prime Minister declaring he expected the two new shipments would be the “first of many” more to deal with the oil crisis.

Anthony Albanese revealed details of the deliveries after a meeting in Kuala Lumpur where he and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim agreed to keep supplying each other’s nations with vital energy products on a “no surprises basis”.

In a joint press conference both leaders also backed Pope Leo’s call for peace and an end to conflict in the Middle East, after President Donald Trump repeatedly attacked the Pontiff for speaking out about the number of innocent people being killed in the Iran war.

“My government has secured an additional 100 million litres of diesel from two shipments, one from Brunei, where I was yesterday, and one from South Korea,” Mr Albanese told reporters following his talks on Thursday.

“This is the first of many expected shipments secured under the government’s new strategic reserve powers with the support of Export Finance Australia (EFA).”

Under the new powers, EFA has partnered with Viva Energy to make the purchase of more than 570,000 barrels of additional diesel possible, which can be directed to where it’s needed most such as regional communities.

Asked about the overnight Geelong refinery fire, the Prime Minister said he was relieved there were no casualties, and thanked firefighters and staff involved in the response, but warned: “clearly, there will be consequences from it”.

“They are very distressing scenes . . . obviously, there will need to be an assessment of that and the consequences for fuel supply,” he said.

The Malaysian Prime Minister described the bilateral discussions with his guest as frank and productive following the signing of a joint-energy security agreement which stopped short of guarantees on fuel exports but included a “no surprises” assurance.

“Malaysia will always be a reliable partner to Australia,” said Mr Ibrahim. “We will be mates — I don’t know why you use that term — through thick and thin as we’ve always been.”

“Let no one mistake the weight of what we signed today … agreements like these have a direct impact on people’s lives. The distances between a signed agreement and a family’s dinner table is shorter than people imagine.”

An agreement for a “no surprises” assurance was made against the backdrop of preparations for the May 12 budget, where the Albanese government is considering a new tax on gas exports, but not one that would apply to current contracts.

Any new taxes on resources exports risks blowback from Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, which relies heavily on Australian liquefied natural gas.

During the press conference Malaysia’s Prime Minister, whose country is majority Muslim also raised the issue of Gaza, saying “the killings have not stopped”, but expressed appreciation for Australia’s continued calls for “an end to hostilities” and a “lasting solution”.

Australia and Malaysia also backed Pope Leo’s call for peace and an end to conflict in the Middle East, after President Donald Trump repeatedly attacked the Pontiff for speaking out about the number of innocent people being killed in the Iran war.

At a joint press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim both expressed support for the Pope and his plea for global peace.

“Well, Albanese is a Catholic, I’m a Muslim, but we share something in common: we have very high regard and respect for Pope Leo. He expressed the voice of conscience.”

“We have followed the Pope’s recent statements and share his desire for peace, for justice, and for an end to atrocities,” Mr Anwar said during a joint press conference with his Australian guest.

The Malaysian leader added: “I think any reasonable or sane person, and even I as a Muslim and Malaysians generally, certainly support the position taken by the Pope.

“I think people across the world should support the call for peace and oppose any form of injustice or atrocities.

“Whether he (the Pope) made the reference specifically to Gaza or to the situation in the Middle East, or for that matter, to the aftermath of the Israeli and American attack on Tehran and Iran.”

Mr Albanese, who is wrapping up his second visit to Asia in two weeks for fuel security meetings, said he was honoured to have had an audience with Pope Leo a year after his inaugural Mass.

“I found him a very thoughtful, dignified, and extraordinary person who will provide leadership not just to the Catholic Church but will be a very significant figure in global affairs, as was his predecessor, Pope Francis,” Mr Albanese said.

“Right now, we are seeing the consequences of conflict — a conflict on the other side of the world. Everyone is aware of it now. There are consequences of conflict, including the loss of innocent life, but there are also extraordinary economic consequences affecting people everywhere at the moment.

“That is why we will continue to argue for de-escalation and for a resolution through dialogue rather than through military action,” he added.

This week the US President has criticised Pope Leo as “terrible” in a rare direct attack on the pontiff, who responded that he had “no fear” of the White House administration and would continue to denounce the horrors of the Iran war.

The President’s comments came after the Pope had spoken out, with growing force, against the US-Israeli war on Iran ‌and the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Mr Albanese has ended his overnight visit to Kuala Lumpur by meeting with executives from one of Asia’s largest oil companies inside the Malaysian Petroleum Club, seeking to secure more supplies for Australia in response to the fuel crisis.

Visiting the city’s famous Petronas twin towers, the Prime Minister sat down with senior leaders from the state-owned oil giant after which the building is named, and declared “we have so much work which we do together”.