Australia, Singapore strike deal to secure fuel as Middle East crisis deepens, six vital tankers cancelled

Australia has secured a fuel supply lifeline through a key Pacific ally, after several shipments scheduled for the next month were cancelled. Anthony Albanese has been fiercely negotiating with Asian counterparts amid revelations six fuel tankers from Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea – Australia’s biggest suppliers – had been cancelled or deferred as their refineries grapple with no oil flowing out of the Middle East. Following a call on Monday, the Prime Minister and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong said their countries “share deep concern over the situation in the Middle East and its consequences for our region, such as the impact on energy supply chains and prices”. “We are committed to working together to strengthen energy supply chain resilience, including by deepening regional co-operation, accelerating renewable energy transition, addressing unjustified import and export restrictions, and maintaining open trade flows,” they said in a statement. “In this context, we reaffirm our commitment to strengthen energy security, to support the flow of essential goods including petroleum oils, such as diesel, and liquefied natural gas between our two countries, and to notify and consult each other on any disruptions with ramifications on the trade of energy.” Earlier, cabinet minister Mark Butler suggested Australia could leverage its status as a gas exporting giant to ensure fuel flows from Asia. “Over the last couple of days, we’ve seen an increase in tensions as a result of (US President Donald Trump) threatening to bomb power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not open and then retaliatory threats again over the last 24 hours from Iran,” Mr Butler told the Today show. “This conflict does look like it’s going to go on for a little longer, and it’s reverberating right through the global economy. “But we are working very hard with our regional partners. They receive energy from us, we receive liquid fuels from them. “We’re doing everything we can to get supply back into Australia and at the moment those supplies are holding up pretty well.” Appearing on Sky News later, Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite also noted that Mr Albanese was “negotiating with our Asian neighbours” and the government was “doing everything we possibly can to ensure that we can maintain fuel security for Australia”. “The beauty of Australia is that we are one of the largest distributors of (liquefied natural gas) anywhere in the world,” Mr Thistlethwaite said. “And South Korea gets almost all of its LNG, it’s liquefied natural gas, through Australia. “So, they’ve got a vested interest in ensuring that. It’s a two-way street.” He added that he did not think it would come to Australia withholding gas, and the country “is a very reliable distributor of LNG”, but stressed “we’ve got that advantage in that we can work with our neighbours in Asia Pacific to ensure that they have access to their energy needs and we get access to ours”. Fuel prices have soared across Australia since the US and Israeli launched strikes on Iran. The Islamist regime’s retaliatory strikes have targeted oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, effectively shutting the marine passage and cutting off a fifth of the world’s oil supply. Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Sunday revealed the six fuel tankers were cancelled after dismissing a warning from Malaysia days earlier that it would need to prioritise its own supply if the war against Iran dragged on. In his comments on Sunday, Mr Bowen said some of the ships cancelled “have already been replaced by the importers and refiners with other sources”. Reuters reported at the weekend that major fuel companies, including ExxonMobil, BP and Vitol, were shipping record volumes from the Gulf of Mexico. But the route is significantly more costly raising questions about how long it could continue.