At least 107 fuel stations across the state of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia have run out of diesel as panic buying has outstripped supply, premier Chris Minns said today.
Most of the affected stations are operated by independent fuel retailers who source their fuel from importers. Those importers have started rationing fuel sales to non-contracted buyers so they may honour existing contracts with customers.
Australia had 30, 37 and 29-days' worth of stocks for gasoil, gasoline and jet fuel at the normal rate of consumption, the latest weekly snapshot of fuel supplies as of 10 March show.
The Australian government allowed the release of up to 762mn litres (4.8mn bl) of gasoline and gasoil from Australia's domestic reserves on 13 March, reducing the Minimum Stockholding Obligation levels for each company to which it applies.
Under the state's Energy and Utilities Administration Act, the premier has the power to declare an energy supply emergency if fuel supply is disrupted to a significant degree. This allows the state government to have control the fuel distribution, including directing it to specific regions, forcing suppliers to sell fuel to specific customers and allowing authorities to take control of the businesses that supply fuel.
