The Western Australian (WA) Government will ask Parliament to extend a fuel-related State of Emergency until 29 March 2027 to maintain stock disclosure rules for suppliers.
The Government views an extension to its State of Emergency – which is set to expire on 30 September – as needed to ensure certainty for businesses in its mining and agriculture sectors, multiple ministers said in a joint statement on 16 September.
Fuel suppliers have given the Government weekly reports about their diesel and petrol stocks since early April, largely because of the State of Emergency declaration. Officials have used supplier reports to identify and address local shortages, the ministers said.
“Our access to detailed supply chain information - from port to petrol pump - has kept WA moving throughout the fuel crisis,” Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said. “Extending the State of Emergency is a proactive and responsible measure that will ensure we continue to have a clear view of supply chains,” Sanderson added.
The WA Government’s State of Emergency request comes alongside a recent rise in Brent crude futures prices and escalating conflicts across the Persian Gulf.
Brent crude futures traded at $105.71/barrel on 16 September, higher than at any point since mid-May, likely because of Yemen-based attacks on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and the continued closure of the Hormuz Strait.
And prices could rise further. The International Energy Agency expects global oil supply and demand to fall by 5.7 million barrels per day and 2.5 million barrels per day over 2026, respectively, it said on 11 September.
Saudi Arabia closed its East-West oil pipeline – which links the Abqaiq oil field to the Red Sea, bypassing the now-closed Hormuz Strait – on 10 September because Yemen-based Houthi rebels attacked it.
“Technical teams responded immediately [to] the attacks, taking [steps] to secure the pipeline and assess its safety in line with approved … emergency response plans,” Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said on 12 September.
“The pipeline was shut down as a precautionary measure … [and] further developments will be announced in due course,” it added.
Houthi rebels and the Saudi Arabian forces have periodically traded fire since March 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni Civil War to support exiled President Abdrabbuh Hadi.
Saudi Arabian-led forces have repeatedly launched indiscriminate attacks on Yemeni hospitals, schools, and crowded markets since 2015, according to Amnesty International. Houthi rebels have similarly launched indiscriminate attacks on Yemeni civilian areas, and attacked Saudi Arabian-linked airports, ports, and oil infrastructure.
“All the parties to [the Yemen conflict] have displayed a ruthless and wanton disregard for the safety of civilians,” Amnesty International Senior Crisis Response Advisor Donatella Rovera said in 2015.
“Civilians in southern Yemen have found themselves trapped in a deadly crossfire between [Houthi] loyalists and anti-[Houthi] groups on the ground, while facing the persistent threat of coalition airstrikes from the sky,” Rovera added.
By Avinash Govind