Australia secures 200 million litres of fuel as Albanese declares ‘we’re in a very volatile environment’

Australia has secured an additional four shiploads of diesel using a new government financing scheme, as several Iran-linked oil tankers bound for Malaysia have reportedly changed course over recent days to avoid the United States Navy.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday announced an extra 200 million litres of fuel sourced from South Korea, Brunei and Malaysia is due to arrive in late May or early June.

“What we’re doing each and every day is working in the interests of Australians. I think Australians know, they see it on their TV every night, that we’re in a very volatile environment,” Mr Albanese said during a visit to Sydney’s Port Botany fuel terminal.

“We can’t control all of that, because we’re not participants in that conflict. What we can control is how we respond, and we’re responding by throwing everything at it, everything at supply, to make a difference.”

The latest deliveries follow the Prime Minister’s visit to Brunei and Malaysia last week for face-to-face talks with his counterparts on fuel security amid the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Chris Bowen described the additional four shipments as giving Australia an “extra buffer” and said the 200 million litres of diesel would be go to Brisbane, Geelong, Sydney and Perth.

The Government says the four new cargoes have been secured through contracts with Viva Energy and BP Australia through Export Finance Australia, the federal government’s underwriting scheme.

“This Government is working very closely in the most volatile and unpredictable international circumstances imaginable to ensure that Australia is best, possibly placed,” Mr Bowen said.

The Energy Minister on Tuesday night spoke with his State and territory counterparts, to work through recommendations that will go to a meeting of national Cabinet on Thursday.

Mr Albanese stressed that Thursday’s meeting with Premiers would “just be an update” rather than a gathering to make significant decisions.

“It’s important that state and territories be informed, and it’s important that we work together as a nation at what is a very difficult and challenging time for the entire world,” he said.

Confirmation of the extra diesel shipments follows a Wall Street Journal report that five Iran-linked tankers headed to Malaysia from the Gulf of Oman recently turned around after the United States warned it would intercept ships suspected of carrying Iranian oil.

The report, citing List Intelligence, said that the Iran-flagged Suezmax Kariz, loaded with about one million barrels of crude, changed course off Sri Lanka early on April 17 after initially heading towards Malaysia and Singapore.

Another vessel called the Andromeda, carrying roughly two million barrels of oil, also diverted in the Indian Ocean, while two empty tankers — Amak and Elisabet — also reportedly turned back near the Strait of Hormuz after nearing US Navy vessels.

During a joint press conference with Mr Albanese in Kuala Lumpur last week, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim insisted his country “maintained good bilateral relations” with Iran when questioned by The Nightly about buying oil from the Islamic regime.

Malaysia is Australia’s third-largest fuel supplier, providing 14 per cent of its diesel, 10 per cent of its petrol and 11 per cent of its jet fuel, while this country provides almost all the Southeast Asian nation’s liquefied natural gas imports.

On Wednesday Ampol announced that margins at its Lytton refinery in Brisbane, one of only two in the country, had more than quadrupled as the conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt fuel shipments to Australia.

Viva Energy, the owner of Australia’s other oil refinery in Geelong said on Monday it expected to ramp back up to above 90 per cent of its maximum output within weeks, as it recovers from a major blaze that recently crippled key production units.