Australia secures Chinese jet fuel after talks: Albanese
Sydney (19 May)
Australia has secured around 100 million litres of jet fuel from Chinese refiners following discussions between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
The Australian Government expects the jet fuel to arrive in the country from early June, it said on 19 May. “The cargoes from China are a first step and I thank Premier Li for the constructive engagement that we’ve had,” Albanese said at a press conference in Perth.
Albanese declined to comment on the specifics of his discussion with Premier Li. “When I talk with Premier Li, I talk privately and constructively. And our main focus was, of course, on what is happening internationally is happening right throughout our region,” Albanese said.
The Government expects to secure additional Chinese jet fuel in the future, it said. Chinese refiners supplied Australia with 6.8% of its refined petroleum imports in 2024, data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity show.
But China curbed fuel exports in mid-March because of the US-Israeli war in Iran. Chinese producers exported 3.1 million tonnes of refined oil in April, down 38% from 5 million tonnes a year earlier, preliminary Chinese customs data show (see table).
The country’s refined oil exports declined by 9% on the year in January-April to 15.9 million tonnes, according to Chinese customs data.
Australia’s government has secured refined oil supply commitments from the Japanese, South Korean, Singaporean, Malaysian, and Bruneian Governments since March.
It has also underwritten 700 million litres of spot-market fuel purchases since the start of the Iran war. Viva Energy, Ampol, and IOR secured 150 million litres of diesel with Government support on 15 May, in the most recent round of fuel underwrites.
Australia has more petrol, diesel, and jet fuel in storage than it did on 28 February because of consistent contracted imports and Government-backed spot purchases, the Government said on 16 May.
By Avinash Govind