Australian fuel outlook weakens amid Hormuz escalation
Sydney (29 June)
Producers have cut their planned fuel deliveries to Australia, likely because of ongoing maritime disruptions and violence around the Strait of Hormuz, but the country’s fuel reserves remain high.
Ships carrying 3.6 billion litres of fuel – including diesel, petrol, jet fuel, and crude oil – will arrive in Australia over the next month, Energy Minister Chris Bowen told reporters on 27 June. Planned fuel deliveries are down from 3.9 billion litres a week ago.
Australia’s diesel and jet fuel reserves have also declined over the last week, but are well within the range of a good, solid supply, Bowen said. They remain above pre-Iran war levels, Bowen added.
Australia has 37 days’ worth of diesel reserves and 29 days’ worth of jet fuel reserves, down from 39 days’ and 32 days’ worth of reserves a week ago, respectively. The country has 44 days’ worth of petrol reserves, unchanged from a week ago.
Australia’s fuel reserve and planned import declines come alongside an uptick in violence around the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian forces shot missiles at two oil tankers – the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely and Marshall Islands-flagged Kiku – near the Strait of Hormuz on 26 June and 27 June, respectively, reports from the United States Central Command (Centcom) and United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) indicate.
Ever Lovely has since transited through the Strait with minor bridge damage, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on 26 June. The attack on Ever Lovely was unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law, MPA added.
US forces have responded to Iran’s ship attacks with airstrikes targeting military infrastructure and communication systems, Centcom said on 27 June. “Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue [, and US] forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready,” Centcom added.
Iranian and US actions around the Strait of Hormuz could reverse recent Brent crude futures price trends. Brent crude futures last traded at $71.99/barrel on 26 June, down from $72.87/barrel on 27 February, immediately before the US-Israeli war in Iran began. Futures prices have declined in recent weeks because of US-Iranian peace negotiations.
The Australian Government has called on the US and Iran to resolve the US-Israeli war in Iran.
“We just want this dispute to be ended. We want this dispute to come to a close so the world can go back to normal, to much more normal arrangements. Again, we call on all sides to see this dispute resolved,” Bowen said.
By Avinash Govind