WA to stockpile millions of litres of fuel, Prime Minister attempts to secure more as seeding gears up

WA will stockpile millions of litres of fuel in the Kimberley as the Federal Government turns to Asia-Pacific countries to shore up critical supplies, at a time farmers are gearing up for seeding. Making the announcement on Tuesday, Premier Roger Cook and Energy Minister Amber Jade-Sanderson said additional volumes of diesel would arrive on Australian shores in the coming weeks by way of extra orders from fuel supplier Cambridge Gulf at a cost of $10 million. The fuel will be entirely owned by the State Government, and stored at a location in Wyndham with up to 12 million litres capacity available, and will be used as a top up and emergency supply for the agriculture industry and remote communities. It’s the latest in the State Government’s efforts to ensure WA’s fuel security — last week announcing that milk tankers and road trains are now allowed to carry an extra 10 tonnes of perishable goods to reduce truck movements. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this week turned to the Kingdom of Brunei and Malaysia in a bid to secure critical fuel and fertiliser supplies amid the continued effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and conflict in the Middle East. Mr Cook said the fuel, and the ability to store more in the future, was a “crucial step” for WA’s future fuel security. “It’s the diesel that will be 100 per cent State-owned and reserved for those who need it most, such as remote communities and the agriculture sector, allowing us to act quickly when we need to,” he said. Last month, the State Government implemented initial changes to allow more fuel, fertiliser, lime, and lime sand to be transported by road trains in response to ongoing farming supply concerns. Shadow Energy Minister Steve Thomas welcomed the State Government’s stockpiling announcement, but said four million litres filled a small proportion of the demand. “Western Australia consumes around six billion litres of diesel every year, mostly in the transport, mining and agriculture sectors. That equates to an average daily consumption of 16.4 million litres,” he said. “The storage of four million litres of diesel sounds significant but represents six hours of average consumption. Extending the storage to 12 million litres of diesel would equate to 18 hours of average demand.”