Mining companies are closely monitoring fuel supplies after the Western Australian Government convened a fuel security roundtable to address industry concerns.
The roundtable, convened by Western Australian Premier Roger Cook, brought together government and industry leaders following concerns about fuel supply disruptions linked to conflict in the Middle East.
During the meeting, the government was assured that fuel shipments to Western Australia are continuing to arrive uninterrupted.
Following the roundtable, government and industry agreed to prioritise fuel and fertiliser imports through WA ports. Fuel providers will also respond to the needs of regional communities through timely restocking.
Industry will explore the use of higher-efficiency vehicles and road trains to support the delivery of fuel to regional areas.
The state government will also establish an industry operational group that will meet weekly to manage specific domestic supply chain issues as they arise and continue working closely with industry and the Federal Government.
“I understand there is a lot of anxiety right now across the community about fuel security, and I want to assure Western Australians that my government is doing everything it can to address these concerns,” Cook said.
Speaking to The Australian, Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) chief executive Warren Pearce said some junior and mid-tier mining companies have reported having around five days of fuel supply and are expecting significant disruption from their suppliers.
“These companies are now having to decide how to manage going forward – limit fuel use to part of their plants or continue unchanged, hoping that fuel will become available shortly,” Pearce said.
“The mining industry runs on diesel and an interruption to fuel supply will potentially see mines having to shut until fuel becomes available,” he said.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable told The Australian smaller miners and exploration operations in remote Australia were “already facing pressure on fuel supplies and price”.
The Federal Government said it is convening relevant forums, including the National Coordination Mechanism to respond to emerging supply chain issues, the Trusted Information Sharing Network, and the National Oil Supplies Emergency Committee.
The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency yesterday unanimously agreed to make 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves available to the market to address disruptions in oil markets stemming from the war in the Middle East.
The decision was made following an extraordinary meeting of the IEA to assess market conditions amid the conflict in the Middle East and consider the options to address supply disruptions.
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