Australian state secures own fuel supply

The premier of Western Australia, Australia's mining powerhouse, said on Tuesday the state had secured a strategic reserve of 4 million litres of diesel to be held at the Port of Wyndham in the Kimberley region in its far north.

While the north of Western Australia is known for its heavily diesel-reliant iron ore mining sector dominated by the likes of BHP BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX, the fuel will be directed to remote, off-grid Aboriginal communities and agriculture, Premier Roger Cook said in a statement.

The reserve could rise to 12 million litres, or around 75,000 barrels of oil, all to be owned by the state.

"Having access to this fuel now, with the ability to store more in the future, is a crucial step towards shoring up our state's fuel security for the future,” Cook said.

Remote communities and some agricultural producers are often more reliant on spot market diesel purchases than long term contracts, the state government said in the same statement.

Western Australia Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson flagged a domestic fuel supply separate to the federal government's moves to ensure national fuel security on Sunday.

The state government has made a deal with local independent supplier Cambridge Gulf, which has placed additional orders for diesel from overseas suppliers and will store it free of charge.

“This approach complements the federal government's Minimum Stockholding Obligation (MSO), which requires fuel companies to hold reserves,” the state government said in its statement.

Canberra relaxed the MSO on companies last month, allowing more fuel to get to market as supplies of petrol and diesel tightened amid panic buying set off by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which saw roughly 20% of global oil and natural gas exports before the Iran war.

The state government earlier introduced emergency powers to ensure fuel suppliers provided “detailed supply chain information”.

One of the planks of the national plan Canberra announced was coordination between states in addition to a slew of other measures such as cutting excise, allowing higher sulphur levels and securing supply from Asian trade partners.

Wyndham port has previously been used as an export point for incremental amounts of conventional onshore oil produced by Australian junior Buru Energy BRU.AX from its now-closed Ungani field.

-Reporting by Helen Clark; Editing by Kate Mayberry/Reuters