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.
Fuel prices in Australia are set by the market. International benchmark prices and the value of the Australian dollar have the most influence on the price consumers pay for fuel.
But there's no single person who controls gas prices. Instead, gas prices are controlled by the market forces of supply and demand.
In Australia, petrol, diesel and automotive LPG prices are deregulated. This means Australian fuel prices are not controlled by the government. The market determines prices. Fuel prices go up and down due to a mix of factors, including overseas and local market forces.
The Australian Government regulates the quality of petrol and diesel sold in Australia.
The sector in Australia is dominated by international companies including Apache, BHP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Santos, Shell and Woodside. Out of these, Apache, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and ExxonMobil have parent companies in the US, while BP and Shell have parent companies in Europe.
Believe it or not the gas natural resources are owned by all Australians with legal ownership vested through governments' rights over these assets. Yep that's right every Australian Citizen owns this resource and asset…….
Australia exports most of its natural gas, and extremely high international prices — triggered by the market turmoil in Europe over the last year — have caused its domestic prices to soar.
The cost of fuel will usually be above the commodity price as retailers and wholesalers have additional costs they need to pay to sell the product. About 90 per cent of petrol sold in Australia is imported, despite the country producing some crude oil domestically.
Without action, retail gas prices are expected to increase by 20 per cent in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, with the majority of the gas price increase for this year having already occurred due to global energy shocks. We are taking action now because doing nothing is not an option.
Russia is the world's second-largest producer of natural gas, behind the United States, and has the world's largest gas reserves. Russia is the world's largest gas exporter.
Most of Australia's oil is produced on the North West Shelf, some distance from domestic east coast refining capacity. In addition, domestically produced grades of crude oil are generally not suited for local refineries compared to other internationally sourced oil.
Diesel is traded internationally and the largest trading centre in our region is Singapore. This is the reason why Australian retail prices are linked to the Gasoil price of refined diesel in Singapore. Movements in the Gasoil price are influenced by the international price of the crude oil from which it is made.
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. Most of our imported petrol comes from Asia, with around 25 per cent of it coming from Singapore.
Conventional natural gas is also produced from the Carnarvon and Perth basins in Western Australia and the Bonaparte basin in the Northern Territory. Coal seam gas is produced in a number of fields in the Surat-Bowen and Sydney basins. This gas supplies domestic consumption as well as LNG exports.
Who is the biggest oil and gas producer in Australia? Woodside is Australia's largest operator of oil and gas production. Woodside is also the company behind Scarborough, currently one of Australia's most ambitious gas projects.
The Most Affordable Countries for Fuel
The US has long imposed relatively low taxes on its fuel, which is a large part of the reason why prices are so much cheaper than other developed countries.
Gasoline Prices in Australia averaged 1.04 USD/Liter from 1998 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 1.67 USD/Liter in March of 2013 and a record low of 0.46 USD/Liter in December of 1998.
Recent Trends – Retail Diesel Prices. IBISWorld forecasts average retail diesel prices to rise by 21.5% in 2022-23, to 212.2 cents per litre.
unplanned outages and reductions in output at Australian coal-fired power stations have driven up the need for gas-fired electricity generation. ongoing supply chain disruptions, including delivering coal to power plants.
The report shows that the three LNG producers have been net withdrawers of gas from the domestic market since 2021, buying more gas from other gas producers than they supply to domestic customers, which has worsened the gas shortfall (see chart 2).
Western Australia has become “a low energy price paradise” with the lowest natural gas prices in the OECD, against a broader climate of global energy crises that have driven prices elsewhere – including Australia's east coast – to record levels, according to consultancy EnergyQuest.
Australia has prohibited the import, purchase or transport of Russian oil, gas, refined petroleum products and coal since 25 April 2022.
Shell Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Shell. Shell has operated in Australia since 1901, initially delivering bulk fuel into Australia, then establishing storage and distribution terminals, oil refineries, and a network of service stations.
Barrow Island has been a Class A Nature Reserve since 1910 and is an internationally important conservation estate. It is also Australia's largest onshore operating oilfield.