Australia's fuel stocks are higher than at the outbreak of the US Iran war, energy minister Chris Bowen said on 18 April.
Australia held fuel stocks equivalent to 31 days of gasoil consumption, 30 days of jet fuel and 46 days of gasoline under its minimum stockpile obligation (MSO) on 14 April, data released on the same day show. Volumes include those in country storage and cargoes located within Australia's exclusive economic zone. Australia's fuel requirements are contracted until the end of May, Bowen added.
Fuel suppliers are required to report stocks every Tuesday and prove compliance with the MSO under federal law by Friday. MSO data were published quarterly prior to the US Iran war but shifted to weekly disclosures in early March.
Australia had average holdings equivalent to 32 days of gasoil consumption, 29 days of jet fuel and 38 days of gasoline, according to the most recent quarterly MSO figures, covering September–December 2025.
The Australian government will allow domestic sales of 50ppm sulphur gasoline until the end of September, extending earlier temporary relaxations introduced in March. The initial waiver permitted refiner Ampol to sell gasoline above the national 10ppm sulphur limit for 60 days and allowed imports of 50ppm material. From September, suppliers will be permitted to blend higher sulphur gasoline into the broader fuel pool at lower rates until 31 December, Bowen said.
Suppliers subject to the MSO can paper trade S-21 tickets with other importers to ensure compliance. An S-21 ticket is a ticket for one litre of gasoil, jet fuel or gasoline. Gasoil remains the tightest market for MSO compliance and the requirement became more stringent after the mandated gasoil stock levels increased from 1 July 2025 to 32 days of cover for importers and 20 days for refiners Viva Energy and Ampol.
Viva is typically long on S-21 tickets thanks to its lower days of consumption requirements owing to its 120,000 b/d Geelong refinery. Lower distillates output at Geelong could mean it has less tickets to offer other importers who could be short of their MSO requirements. Importers had their MSO requirements for gasoil and gasoline lowered by 20pc in an attempt to boost supply after a surge in demand from panic buying led to service stations running dry in regional areas.
Meanwhile, the fire at Viva's Geelong refinery on 15 April was confined to the alkylation unit, while processing units including the crude distillation and reformer units remain unaffected. The residue catalytic cracking unit (RCCU) is temporarily off line as part of stabilisation efforts. The RCCU unit was restarted in mid-October 2025 following a major maintenance.
Viva expects production of diesel, jet fuel and gasoline to return to above 90pc of capacity in coming weeks, subject to plant inspections. The Geelong refinery does not typically process Middle Eastern crude, sourcing supplies mainly from North and South America, southeast Asia and Australia. Viva said it has secured crude supply through July, with high confidence of continued availability.
Around one-third of Viva's transport fuel sales are supplied by the Geelong refinery, with the remainder largely met by imports from the Asia Pacific region through its partnership with Vitol.
