Petrol Scare in Australia: Liquid Fuel Reserves to Last For Only 20 Days

Sydney, May 7: A petrol scare has struck Australia as the liquid fuel reserves are expected to last for only 20 days. Even as the government claims that the situation would be normalised within a week, the Opposition has accused the Malcolm Turnbull regime of pushing the nation on a brink of crisis due to its "lackadaisical response" to the issue.

Opposition MP from the Liberal party, Jim Molan said the "business as usual approach" of the Australian government has led to the alarming situation. He has appealed Prime Minister Turnbull of using all diplomatic channels to ensure optimum amount of petroleum is supplied to Australia at the earliest.

According to local media reports, the petrol reserves in Australia would last for only 20 days, diesel for 21, aviation fuel for 19 and crude oil for only 22 days.

Addressing the issue, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the situation is "worrying", but should not be construed as a "fuel security problem".

Frydenberg said the government, over the past two years, has been taking conscious steps towards securing the energy and gas requirements of the masses. He said a policy re-orientation is required to bring petrol also among the products whose reserves need to be increased.

Australia imports 98 per cent of its fuel requirements. 91 per cent of the imports are from the Middle East countries. The recent missile strikes by US in Syria and the subsequent instability caused is cited as one of the reasons for the immediate panic.

Although the Syrian strikes are considered to be the triggering point, the issue has been lingering over the past few months. As per the International Energy Agency, all nations should mandatorily stock fuel reserves which could meet at least 90 days of demand.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 07, 2018 07:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).