{"id":902343,"date":"2026-09-23T09:24:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T09:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/902343\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T09:24:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T09:24:23","slug":"australian-fuel-prices-why-global-supply-buffers-are-running-low-and-what-it-means-for-motorists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/902343\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian fuel prices: Why global supply buffers are running low and what it means for motorists"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nick<\/p>\n

September 23, 2026 \u2014 5:29pm<\/p>\n

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Australian fuel companies are warning global supply buffers that have shielded motorists from the full impact of the Iran war are rapidly depleting, raising the risk of steeper price rises at service stations if international inventories continue to tighten.<\/p>\n

For months, governments and energy companies worldwide have been burning through their stockpiles of crude oil and refined fuels to make up for shipments disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe war in Iran choked fuel supplies and pushed up the cost of petrol and diesel worldwide.Oscar Colman<\/p>\n

These emergency releases, paired with higher output from oil producers and refineries in the Americas, initially helped prevent the Middle East supply shock from cascading into a bigger energy crisis. Elevated fuel costs and demand-saving measures such as work-from-home mandates also curbed consumption significantly in many price-sensitive countries.<\/p>\n

But with the Iran conflict entering its eighth month, Australian fuel industry leaders are becoming increasingly concerned by the speed that global reserves are diminishing with no major supply improvements on the horizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe buffers are no longer there to the same degree,\u201d said Malcolm Roberts, head of the Australian Institute of Petroleum, which represents Ampol, BP, Mobil and Viva Energy.<\/p>\n

The International Energy Agency estimates global inventories have plummeted by 507 million barrels, equivalent to about 2.8 million barrels a day, since the conflict began.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cLooking ahead, those industry and government stocks are much lower than where they were,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

Recent developments in the Middle East have added to the strain, as drone strikes forced the suspension of a major crude pipeline being used by Saudi Arabia, one of the world\u2019s biggest oil exporters, to bypass attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, choking off yet another route for oil to reach global customers.<\/p>\n

A convergence of other global pressures also clouds the outlook: China is preparing to step up crude imports after months of muted demand, while Ukrainian attacks have severely crippled Russia\u2019s oil-refining sector, which typically accounts for 4 per cent of the world\u2019s capacity.<\/p>\n

Now, US President Donald Trump is weighing a possible ban on American diesel exports, which could ease US fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections but send global prices sharply higher.<\/p>\n

Matt Halliday, chief executive of Australian fuel giant Ampol, described the geopolitical outlook as \u201cextraordinarily difficult to read\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many unknowns,\u201d Halliday said on Wednesday. \u201cThe reality is that markets can shift quickly, shipping routes can be disrupted, and decisions made from afar can affect availability of supply and prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australia is particularly exposed to global fuel shocks because of its heavy reliance on fuel imports. Following a series of domestic oil refinery closures over the past decade, Australia now imports more than 80 per cent of its petrol, diesel and jet fuel, leaving local pump prices closely tied to swings on volatile global markets.<\/p>\n

Australian motorists are already starting to pay more. The average price of regular unleaded has surged nearly 40 per cent since July to above $2.30 a litre, while diesel is up nearly 60 per cent over the same period to $2.88.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"With<\/a><\/p>\n

Industry leaders, however, say the risk of an actual supply shortage in Australia remains minimal.<\/p>\n

Roberts said domestic fuel suppliers had demonstrated this year that they could maintain adequate contracted imports and secure additional shipments when required, despite difficult conditions in global markets.<\/p>\n

Importers have diversified their supply chains, sourcing fuel from five continents, while the Albanese government had provided critical assistance through an underwriting scheme designed to help them secure available cargoes.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s fuel stocks also remained in a \u201cpretty healthy\u201d position, Roberts added, with more than a month\u2019s worth of petrol and diesel still stashed in reserve, even as contracted shipments continue arriving.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t see a loss of supply in Australia, but we are fully exposed to the price movements \u2013 and diesel, in particular, has been going up quite sharply,\u201d he said. \u201cIf there is any further disruption to [global] supply, then that problem is going to become all the greater.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"NickNick Toscano<\/a> is a business reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 23, 2026 \u2014 5:29pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":902344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-902343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/902344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}