Australia's Fuel Crisis: Empty Stations and Soaring Prices in Charts
A customer uses a fuel pump to fill up their car in Melbourne, a scene becoming increasingly rare as Australia grapples with a severe fuel crisis. Hundreds of service stations nationwide have run empty, fuel prices remain elevated, and multiple oil shipments have been cancelled or deferred, creating widespread uncertainty for consumers and businesses alike.
Root Causes and Government Response
The crisis stems primarily from Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route, which has severely disrupted oil supplies. In response, the Australian federal government has implemented several measures to mitigate the impact. These include releasing national fuel reserves, cutting fuel excise taxes, and rolling out a comprehensive national fuel security plan aimed at stabilising supply chains and reducing price volatility.
Tracking Price Increases and Outages
Since the US and Israel's war on Iran began in late February, average petrol and diesel prices across Australia have risen significantly. However, obtaining a complete picture of the situation is challenging due to the involvement of thousands of independent businesses and various state governments. To address this, data has been compiled on prices, outages, and oil tanker deliveries, providing a clearer view of the crisis.
Fuel outages are not static; stations can run out of stock and later regain it as governments and companies work to fill supply chain gaps. A detailed map shows the number of fuel outages across Australia day by day, with notable spikes in New South Wales and Victoria on 30 and 31 March. The total number of stations out of at least one kind of fuel each day is estimated, though this may be an undercount due to varying state reporting timescales.
Impact on Oil Shipments and Tanker Traffic
At least six fuel shipments to Australia have already been cancelled or deferred, with experts predicting further delays. Data on "port calls"—stops at Australian ports by tankers carrying fuel and crude oil—shows a slight decline in February and March compared to the past six years. Notably, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed in early March, highlighting the global ripple effects of the closure. Before the conflict, approximately one-fifth of global oil and one-third of fertilisers were shipped through this strait.
Data Sources and Methodology
The information presented is sourced from government fuel websites and APIs, updated daily. Average prices for petrol, E10, and diesel are obtained from Motormouth, while outage data varies by state: Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and the Northern Territory explicitly indicate fuel availability, whereas outages for New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia are estimated based on station trends and historical data. Tanker data comes from Portwatch at the University of Oxford, using IMF sources, and counts port visits by tanker ships, which may include imports or exports. This analysis will be updated as the crisis evolves, with corrections footnoted in line with editorial standards.
