Chris Bowen to visit Saudi Arabian counterpart as escalating Middle East conflict threatens energy supply

Australia’s Energy Minister Chris Bowen will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet his counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman next week as escalating conflict in the Middle East threatens to further disrupt the global energy supply.

It comes as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a new wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia overnight after the kingdom’s 1200-kilometre east-west crude pipeline was damaged last week.

The 1980s-build pipeline had been critical for Gulf states to bypass Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Israel strikes on Tehran in late February.

“What we are seeing in the Middle East is deeply concerning. I will be travelling to Saudi Arabia next week for direct meetings with my counterpart, the energy minister Prince Abdulaziz Al Saud,” Mr Bowen announced on Monday’s ABC 7.30 program.

Mr Bowen said despite the pair speaking over the phone, he would get a direct update on the pipeline’s condition, the supply restoration timeline, and the government’s approach.

“Even though I’ve been talking to him on the phone, getting the best information about the state of the pipeline, when it will return to more normal levels, what the approach of the Saudi Arabian government is, will be key for ensuring that fuel security overcoming weeks and months.”

Experts say oil and gas prices are expected to rise over the next few months, in turn creating broader inflationary pressure, if the situation in the Middle East doesn’t improve.

It comes amid fears United State’s opponents may undertake further attacks to exert upward pressure on prices ahead of the US midterms in November and the Israeli elections in late October.

Australia currently holds 41 days’ worth of petrol reserves after moving to shore up supplies since the war began but the nation still relies heavily on important petroleum products.

Despite soaring fuel prices Mr Bowen downplayed the reintroduction of fuel excise relief for Australian motorists.

While he said Labor was continuing to look “very closely” at a renewed surge in oil prices, he insisted several times that the Federal Government had been “very clear” it was a “temporary” measure.

“We’re not going to respond to every daily movement on the world oil price,” Mr Bowen said.

“Obviously, we cut the excise in half for a period of time. We were very clear that that was a temporary measure.

“At the same time, I’m very much focused on ensuring our ongoing fuel supply in this very difficult international circumstance.”

Labor’s Defence Minister Richard Marles was more emphatic in ruling out cost-of-living relief on Tuesday, insisting there were no plans on the table.

“Look, we don’t have plans for (an excise cut) again,” he told News24.

“We are watching what’s playing out in the Middle East. I think it’s important to take a step back. Our focus has been in respect of ensuring fuel supply in Australia.”

The potential for another fuel excise cut or the cost issues facing motorists also wasn’t mentioned in either the Labor or Coalition party rooms on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, however, raised his concerns about the flare-up in the Middle East, what it could mean for the nation’s fuel security and the need to improve fuel resilience in the long term.

ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar said the Australian business sector would struggle to take higher costs that might flow through from the spikes.

“What we’re seeing is that much of Australian business is at its limit. So the ability to absorb further increases in energy costs and input costs is extremely limited at this stage,” he said.

Mr Bowen’s trip follows Mr Albanese’s swift visits to several Asian nations earlier this year to strengthen Australia’s diplomatic ties and supply chains in response to war-related disruptions.