A grim map has laid bare the reality of Australia’s fuel crisis, as prices continue to surge amid intensifying global conflict.
Across the country, diesel is starting to hit $3 a litre in response to severe disruptions to major oil shipping routes and refineries.
The Strait of Hormuz, which controls approximately 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply, effectively remains closed.
The national median price for diesel is $2.88 per litre, up 1.67 cents, but experts say the volatile global situation leaves little room for reliable predictions.
Aus has not yet reached “threshold”
In Sydney, motorists are seeing the prices of diesel above $3 a litre at select eastern suburbs locations, with the city averaging $2.84 per litre, up 2.62 cents per litre last week.
Similarly, Melbourne is teetering on the edge of an average of $3 per litre, with prices between $2.62 and $3.29.
In Brisbane, the average price of diesel is between $2.92 and $2.99 a litre.
It’s a similar sight in Adelaide, where prices are anywhere between $2.73 and $3.10 per litre.
In Darwin and Perth, motorists can expect to pay an average of $2.80.
As it stands, Australia has 41 days of petrol, 31 days of diesel and 32 days of jet fuel, with Energy Minister Chris Bowen set to head to Saudi Arabia to meet with his counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud to discuss the continued flow of oil.
Peter Khoury, NRMA spokesperson, was cautiously optimistic about the prices, saying that a stabilisation of global conflict would see Australians get relief at the bowser.
“The highest price we had since the war started was 3.28, and we’re not at that threshold. Overnight, the benchmark prices in our region have all dropped,” Mr Khoury told news.com.au.
“We saw a massive spike of the second front opening up in the Middle East, and in addition to Iran, we now have the Houthis attacking Saudi refineries. The markets are reacting to that.”
Mr Khoury said they hadn’t expected oil prices to start falling when they dropped on Monday by 3.4 per cent.
Additionally, gas oil dropped $7 a barrel to $176, down four per cent.
“If that’s sustained, we should get a bit of relief at the bowser,” said Mr Khoury.
However, he warned it was “impossible to predict” due to the volatile nature of the conflict.
“There are two things that need to happen for us to see relief,” said Mr Khoury.
“The war on both fronts needs to end now. Those two crucial bodies of water: the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz need to reopen to fair trade in accordance with international law.
“If we do that, we’ll go back to pre-war levels.”
This scenario is beginning to look further away amid revelations of a renewed United States assault on Iran.
On Sunday (local time), Iran’s armed forces revealed they had received information that the US was planning to resume strikes on the country.
President Trump has not confirmed this, but says high fuel prices are an “inexpensive price to pay” for the ongoing war.
Brent crude prices closed at US$101 a barrel on Monday and have remained above US$100 since September 10, prompting the Coalition to announce that a re-elected Liberal-National government would halve the fuel excise by about 27 per cent a litre if the price of Brent Crude soared above US$100 a barrel in a two-week period.
They claim this will save Aussies about $15 per tank of petrol.
At the start of the Middle East war, the Albanese government temporarily cut the fuel excise, but this ended in August, with concerns that a continued cut to the fuel excise would add to already high inflation.
‘Lost control of Diesel industry’
On Monday morning, Donald Trump wrote to social media, saying that Russia had “unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry due to its War with Ukraine.”
“A large number of their Diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission,” the US President said.
“This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended,” he added.
“The whole World suffers as 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, are being killed each month. What a shame!”
For months, Kyiv has been bombarding Russia’s energy facilities in an effort to demonstrate the repercussions of the conflict.
On Sunday morning, local time, Ukraine said it sent more than one thousand drones sent towards the Russian capital and surrounding areas.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said it was the largest ever drone strike on the capital with 1600 drones shot down.
Two people were killed and 20 were injured in the strikes which including damage to an oil refinery.
Ukraine President Zelensky said on Monday that “strong de-escalation steps” could occur but the country’s “energy sector, critical infrastructure, and our food exports must stop being targets for Russia”.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have continued to raise tensions across the Middle East, launching a wave of missile and drone attacks against “sensitive” sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The group also claimed responsibility for an attack on a key Saudi oil export hub in the Red Sea city of Yanbu.