Overview
- The government said Tuesday it locked in three Chinese jet-fuel shipments totaling more than 600,000 barrels, with deliveries beginning from early June.
- Canberra also secured 38,500 tonnes of agricultural-grade urea from Brunei to keep farmers supplied.
- The purchases draw on a new A$7.5 billion Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility that offers financing such as loans, equity, guarantees and insurance.
- The fuel deal followed talks between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and China’s Premier Li Qiang, after which Penny Wong engaged Beijing to open direct negotiations with Chinese state oil firms.
- Officials described the cargoes as short-term buffers as the Hormuz closure and the Iran war strain supplies, noting the fuel equals about 1% of Australia’s annual use and that further procurement continues.