At the end of March, the Australians were having themselves a time thanks to a combination of their own climate cult stubbornness and the strangling of the Strait of Hormuz.
They were experiencing gasoline and diesel outages in spots all over the country, their ineffective, weaselly prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was urging everyone to bike or take a bus to work, fishermen and farmers were running short of essential diesel deliveries, and the Chinese had just cut off the jet fuel tankers they normally ship to the country in order to safeguard their own supplies in crunch time.
The Chinese weren't the only ones cutting their fuel exports to Australia, either, as the number of scheduled inbound tankers dropped precipitously into single digits, and every sailing towards the continent with precious fossil fuels on board became an event to be monitored like a missile launch.
The only two remaining refineries the Australians have were cranking away at full bore, going gangbusters in an attempt to keep some supplies moving into the system with the dearth of imports expected.
In the film Mad Max, an oil shortage leaves Australian society teetering on the brink of total collapse.
In real-life, things aren’t quite that dystopian yet Down Under. But with barely a month of stockpiled diesel left and hundreds of forecourts running dry, the anxiety is palpable.
Australia has one of the highest per-capita rates of diesel consumption in the world but it relies almost entirely on imports to meet that demand. There are two domestic refineries producing petrol but up to 90pc of that is imported, too.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has stifled one fifth of the world’s supply of oil. Much of this goes to the Asian refineries that supply Australia. Now, they’re running short.
So the problem in Australia isn’t just the soaring price of fuel. It’s the prospect of not being able to get any at all.
The country has 38 days’ worth of petrol left in reserve before reaching critical levels, at which point rationing would need to kick in. For diesel, it’s 31 days and for jet fuel, just 28.
I say 'were' because, as of last night, there was only one totally working refinery left.
The country had one of those spectacular and truly badly timed refinery fires, which shut down most of the Viva Energy plant's critical production (outside of Geelong, 65 klicks south-west of Melbourne). Not only is 50% of Victoria's fuel produced there, but it is the only source of aviation fuel in the country, producing about 10% of what the country uses, with the rest, like everything else, imported.
🇦🇺 As if global oil markets needed more bad news.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 16, 2026
A massive fire tore through one of Australia's only two oil refineries overnight, and the Geelong plant is now running at minimum output.
It supplies 50% of Victoria's fuel and is the country's sole producer of aviation fuel.… pic.twitter.com/CrthaKHo3r
IT LOOKED LIKE A WAR ZONE
Plant and company officials said that it was a mechanical failure with a piece of the aging equipment - the plant was built in 1950, and apparently, maintenance has been an issue for the longest while. Even with the breakdown, the shutdown to fight the fire, and extensive fire damage, they still managed to keep production cranking.
...While some experts have warned the refinery fire will have an immediate impact on fuel prices, more information about damage caused by the fire is still needed to understand the impact it will have on future production.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said fuel supply was sufficient and urged people not to engage in "unfounded speculation."
Refinery manager, Bill Patterson told media Viva Energy was still "making petrol, diesel and jet fuel at pretty decent rates."
Fortunately for the country, it seems most of the damage was in the section tooled to produce 'anti-fuel sniffing' blends for, I guess, folks in the wilderness who don't have meth labs?
As I am not an addictive sniffing substance expert - I don't even play one here at HotAir - I can't speak to being a fumer.
...Mr Patterson said the specific area impacted by the fire is involved in LPG production and low aromatic gasoline (a product designed to reduce petrol sniffing) which is supplied to some remote parts of Australia.
He said the remainder of the refinery has been running at reduced rates while details of the fire were being established.
A little over a week and a half ago, things were still pretty dire, so this is extraordinarily bad news on top of the dreary charts they're using for the various fuel stock countdowns. Not to mention the speculative effect on already insane petrol prices.
...Mr Leaney said news of the refinery fire could push up petrol prices quite quickly in Victoria as demand surges, but the actual impact on supply would not be known for two or three weeks.
While that jump in Victoria "may spill over the borders a little bit" it was unlikely to be nationally significant, he said.
⚠️AUSTRALIA FUEL RESERVES NEARLY EMPTY
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) April 4, 2026
Australia, which imports about 90% of its fuel from the Middle East, has barely 1 month of reserves, worse than the UK, reports say.
As of Saturday morning, the country had 39 days of petrol, 29 days of diesel, and 30 days of jet fuel amid… pic.twitter.com/LHiVtlzC2F
There's also another tiny frisson of concern, thanks to Albanese calling a press conference to announce he'd hooked up a couple of fuel deliveries.
Why such a big deal, people are asking, unless it's worse than we've been told?
Two shipments, 100M liters, or 26 hours of diesel for the country.
Astonishing. Australian prime minister secures 26 hours of diesel for Australia and does a press conference.
— Aus Integrity (@QBCCIntegrity) April 16, 2026
If the PM has to fly to two countries to secure 1.1 days of diesel, then this government is lying about how dire our fuel situation really is. pic.twitter.com/xtDApCYD8l
These are flat-out legit questions where this snek is concerned.
It's going to be nip and tuck for a while.
Editor's note: If we thought our job in pushing back against the Academia/media/Democrat censorship complex was over with the election, think again. This is going to be a long fight. If you're digging these Final Word posts and want to join the conversation in the comments -- and support independent platforms -- why not join our VIP Membership program? Choose VIP to support Hot Air and access our premium content, VIP Gold to extend your access to all Townhall Media platforms and participate in this show, or VIP Platinum to get access to even more content and discounts on merchandise. Use the promo code FIGHT to join or to upgrade your existing membership level today, and get 60% off!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member