Australia's Oil Crisis: Vulnerable Without Refining Buffer

0:00Here's more Sydney news for March 12th. Australia faces a tough spot in the growing global oil crisis. We're the world's third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, and the top supplier of thermal and metallurgical coal by sea. Yet when it comes to oil, we're wide open, importing most of our refined fuel after closing six major refineries over the years. Just to remain, one in Brisbane at Litten and another in G-Long, those closures happened because old plants couldn't match the efficiency of giant refineries in places like Singapore. Some sites turned into import terminals instead. Meanwhile, governments shifted from stockpiling reserves to a just in time supply model to save costs, but that left us without proper storage for volatile refined fuels. The downsides showed up during COVID shortages, fueling inflation worldwide. Australia has amid international energy agency rules for 90 days of oil reserves since 2012, and March 2022, we even sold off 1,700,000 barrels held in the United States for 228 million.

1:08Dollars to ease prices after rushes Ukraine invasion. Now, with over 20 million barrels a day off the market for Middle East tensions, fuel prices are surging everywhere. In the United States, gasoline costs jumped 20% recently, hitting consumers and businesses hard, even as the top oil producer. The Strait of Hormuz stays a choke point despite recent strikes on Iran, keeping supplies tight with no quick fix in sight. This could be the worst oil crunch in 50 years, and Australia feels it most without our own refining buffer. This episode is brought to you in partnership with our sponsor. A pillow that plays your podcast, music, or white noise privately. No earbuds required. S-O-L-I, solelypillow.com