Australia is reliant on imports for around 91% of fuel consumption.
Australia relies on imports - about 90 per cent - for the majority of its petrol supply. We do produce some crude oil domestically - about 350 barrels per day - however, the majority of this is exported.
Australia is almost entirely reliant on overseas imports for its fuel. Although we do produce some crude oil here, around 350 barrels a day at last count, much of this is exported. Around 90% of what Australian refineries use to convert crude oil into petrol, diesel, LPG and other fuels is imported.
Australia is a net importer of oil and imports a large proportion of its refinery feedstocks. Most of Australia's oil is produced on the North West Shelf, some distance from domestic east coast refining capacity.
Australia has about 0.3 per cent of the world oil reserves. Most of Australia's known remaining oil resources are condensate and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) associated with giant offshore gas fields in the Browse, Carnarvon and Bonaparte basins.
A growing gap between domestic consumption and production has made Australia's dependence on oil imports increase. Therefore, despite having its own oil reserves and exporting some petroleum liquids, Australia is a net importer of crude oil and refined petroleum products.
A new research report by The Australia Institute has revealed the country has only increased its reliance on imported transport fuels since the federal government released its dire interim Liquid Fuel Security Report in early 2019.
Venezuela - 303.806 Billion Barrels
Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves globally, with over 300 billion barrels mainly located in the Orinoco Belt at the southern end of the eastern Orinoco River Basin.
Australian refineries import roughly 83% of the crude oil they process from more than 17 countries, mainly in Asia (40%), but also Africa (18%) and the Middle East (17%). We are a significant oil producer, but export 75% of our crude production, with the largest recipients being Indonesia and Singapore.
Oil Reserves FAQ
Venezuela is currently the country with the largest proven oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 300 billion barrels of oil.
“International benchmark prices and the value of the Australian dollar have the most influence on the price consumers pay for fuel,” the ACCC said on its website. “Pricing decisions by wholesalers and retailers, and levels of competition in different locations [also] influence fuel prices.”
Australia sources most of its refined petroleum products from Singapore, which imports around 80% of supplies from the Middle East. As a result, Australia has next to no oil independency. This could severely impact the national economy and threaten the country's energy security.
Australian closures leaves just two refineries
This followed news in November of BP closing and converting the Kwinana refinery in Western Australia into a fuel import terminal. These two closures leave just two refineries in Australia.
The ACCC monitors prices, costs and profits relating to the supply of petroleum products in Australia. This is part of a Ministerial direction to monitor for 3 years from 15 December 2022.
The Committee for Sydney has announced its plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2027 in a bid to reach net zero emissions by 2050. According to new data, Sydney residents are not on track to meet the state's 2030 or 2050 net zero targets.
What is fuel excise? Fuel excise is a flat sales tax levied by the Australian Government on petrol and diesel bought at the bowser. The current rate is 47.7 cents in excise for every litre of fuel purchased.
Oil Reserves in Australia
Australia has proven reserves equivalent to 2.9 times its annual consumption. This means that, without imports, there would be about 3 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
Australia has prohibited the import, purchase or transport of Russian oil, gas, refined petroleum products and coal since 25 April 2022.
Gas reserves
Conventional natural gas in eastern Australia is currently produced in a number of fields in the Gippsland, Otway, Cooper, Bass and Surat-Bowen basins. Conventional natural gas is also produced from the Carnarvon and Perth basins in Western Australia and the Bonaparte basin in the Northern Territory.
Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Canada are the three leading countries with the most oil reserves. Industry leader BP plc estimates that there are 1.73 trillion barrels of oil reserves globally. Approximately 80% of the world's oil reserves are in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Venezuela has the largest amount of oil reserves in the world with more than 300 billion barrels in reserve.
Reserves are commercially recoverable amounts of petroleum that remain in known accumulations, of which 2P reserves are the best estimate (the sum of Proved plus Probable Reserves). Australia's 2P reserves of conventional oil resources in 2020 are estimated as 9,300 petajoules (PJ; 1,632 million barrels [MMbbl]).
The Minimum Stockholding Obligation will require Australia's two refineries in Geelong and Brisbane, and Australia's major importers of refined fuels, to hold baseline stocks of: petrol – 24 days from 1 July 2023. Increasing to 27 days in 2024 for importers. diesel fuel – 20 days from 1 July 2023.
There has been oil and gas activity in New Zealand for more than 150 years.