Government unlocks extra fuel supply, extends Middle East deployment amid 'fragile' ceasefire

Australia is moving to bolster fuel supplies and maintain a defence presence in the Middle East as global oil markets remain unsettled. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government had secured agreements enabling Ampol and Viva Energy to bring additional fuel into the country under new powers passed last week, and confirmed an Australian surveillance aircraft will remain in the region for a period of time.

Albanese, who stopped at Ampol’s Lytton oil refinery in Brisbane before travelling to Singapore later today, said arrangements agreed with Export Finance Australia (EFA) would allow the companies to source international spot-market cargoes with government support.

“This is not business as usual — this is additional supply here in Australia that they will be able to source, and as part of that agreement the government can direct where that supply goes,” he said, adding that priority would be given to regional areas under pressure.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said EFA had now agreed to the terms, describing the intervention as “more important now than it was last week”. With oil prices moving around and speculation about the Middle East, he said spot purchases had become riskier for companies, making government backing necessary.

Against the backdrop of a tentative truce, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said economic recovery requires the ceasefire in the Middle East to stick and the Strait of Hormuz to reopen. Albanese called the ceasefire a “fragile peace” and said it must apply to Lebanon as well.

He noted many Australians are concerned about events there and said, of the agreement reached yesterday, “we want to see it pursued”. He added the war would have a “long tail”. On security, Albanese confirmed the Australian Defence Force’s E-7A Wedgetail, deployed last month to the Persian Gulf at the request of the United Arab Emirates, will stay in the region for some time.

“The Wedgetail will be staying in the region for a period of time,” he said, noting he signed the extension this morning after the National Security Committee agreed to it yesterday. The government is also tapping domestic measures to shore up supply.

Last month, Bowen temporarily eased Australia’s fuel quality standards for 60 days to allow the sale of so-called “dirty” fuel domestically, enabling petrol from Ampol’s Lytton refinery to be sold in Australia rather than exported to markets with lower standards.

Lytton is one of two remaining refineries in Australia, alongside Viva Energy’s facility in Geelong. Following the standards change, Ampol deferred scheduled maintenance at Lytton from June to August, resulting in an extra 300 million litres of fuel production.

The fuel security legislation passed last week gives EFA new powers to underwrite purchases from international spot markets. Albanese said the additional supply would begin flowing under the company agreements and that the government would direct shipments to communities facing the greatest pressure, while officials monitor the ceasefire’s durability and conditions in the Strait of Hormuz.