National

Australia 'well-placed' to weather fuel supply storm

May 2, 2026

A road train on the on Stuart Highway — Australia currently has 43 days' supply of petrol and 33 days of diesel, Chris Bowen says. -AAP Image

Australia has more fuel now than it did when the international fuel supply crisis began, federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen says.

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But even if the Mideast war ended now, Mr Bowen warned, there would still be impacts on supply chains.

As truck drivers called for more relief in the face of high fuel prices, Mr Bowen said the government would always consider whether further measures were necessary to support businesses. Â

There were 56 ships carrying fuel en route to Australia, he told reporters during an update on the supply situation on Saturday.

Four billion litres of fuel were locked in and contracted for delivery in the next four weeks, Mr Bowen said.

That included two billion litres of diesel, 577 million litres of petrol, 516 million litres of jet fuel and 813 million litres of crude oil.

Australia currently has 43 days' supply of petrol, 33 days of diesel and 28 days of jet fuel, Mr Bowen said.

"We have more fuel in Australia today than we did when this international crisis began," he said.

His comments came as US President Donald Trump rejected the latest Iranian proposal to end the war.

Mr Bowen said even if an agreement were reached between the US and Iran to end the war in the Middle East, the situation would not return to normal overnight.

"It would be good if this situation is resolved for the world because, as soon as it is resolved, the world economy can get back to more normal levels," he said.

"Even if the Strait of Hormuz opened tonight, there would still be impacts on supply chains."

Mr Bowen said Australia was "very well-placed to weather this storm".