Victim of US-Iran War, RI's Wealthy Neighbour Requests Oil from Singapore
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia officially arrived in Singapore on Friday to bolster relations with the city-state’s primary supplier of refined fuel oil amid an increasingly dire energy crisis. This emergency measure comes as the fragile ceasefire between the United States (US) and Iran fails to curb the surge in global petrol prices.
Citing AFP, Albanese is scheduled to meet Singapore’s leader, Lawrence Wong, after inspecting Jurong Island, the hub of the city-state’s major oil refining facilities. The visit is deemed highly strategic given that Singapore supplies more than a quarter of Australia’s refined fuel requirements.
In return for this trade relationship, Australia plays a crucial role for Singapore as its second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG). This reciprocal dependency forms the cornerstone of ongoing energy security negotiations between the two neighbouring countries.
“It is in the interests of both our countries to engage with each other to ensure that we are both reliable suppliers,” Albanese said on Thursday upon arriving in Singapore.
“It is very important that in difficult times like these in the world, we can rely on each other,” Albanese emphasised, highlighting the importance of solidarity among allied nations amid global uncertainties.
“This is an important relationship at a time when fuel security is a top agenda worldwide due to the conflicts in the Middle East,” the Australian leader added, referring to escalating geopolitical tensions.
Australia’s current energy resilience is in a highly vulnerable position due to its extraordinary reliance on foreign markets. The country depends on imports to meet around 90% of its total refined petroleum product needs to drive its domestic economy.
The crisis is beginning to directly impact society, with the latest reports this week revealing that 3% of fuel stations across Australia have run out of diesel stock. This shortage is raising concerns about potential disruptions to the transport and logistics sectors in the Land of the Kangaroo in the near future.
On the other hand, Australia’s Energy Minister Chris Bowen provided the latest data illustrating the scale of the crisis on the ground, reporting that as many as 216 fuel stations across Australia currently have no diesel stock. This number equates to approximately 2.7% of the total fuel stations in the country.
In addition to the increasingly scarce diesel issue, Chris Bowen also issued warnings regarding other thinning national fuel reserves. He added that Australia currently has petrol reserves sufficient to meet national needs for the next 39 days.