Australia is at risk of running out of fuel in the next few weeks due to the ongoing conflict in Syria. The escalating situation in the war-torn country threatens to cripple the supply chains that keep Australia going.
While the International Energy Agency mandates that countries hold a stock reserve “equivalent to 90 days of net imports,” Australia only has 43 days worth of supply, the Australian reports. And that could be cut down even further if a global crisis threatens supply channels from places like the Middle East.
Low oil reserves and an over-dependence on imports is what’s driving Austrailia’s fuel concerns. Defense Strategy and Capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Dr. Malcolm Davis says Australia’s fuel reserves would last “20 days at best” if supplies were cut off, News.com.au reports. “[Australia is] one of the few countries in the world that does not take our energy security seriously,” said Dr. Davis. “It would be a Mad Max world. Our society and our economy would begin to fall apart very quickly… [because] everything depends on fuel to make an economy run. It is very serious.”
The rather ominous forecast comes in the wake of major US-led strikes on the Syrian government. As tensions escalate and threaten to compromise international trade, this could prove dire for Australia: a nation that outsources its oil refining to such international locations as Singapore. “Instead of investing in refinement facilities here for refining fuel, the government has decided it’s cheaper to do it overseas,” said Dr. Davis. “The price they pay for that in a crisis is that China can interrupt flow to Australia [from Singapore] relatively easy and our economy falls apart.”
According to The Daily Mail UK, liberal Senator and former major general in the Australian Army Jim Molan agrees that “we [Australia] stand[s] in real trouble.” Speaking to 2GB on Monday Morning, Molan criticized the government’s passive approach to issues of fuel supply and energy security, calling it “a single point of failure for Australia.”
“The way that we seem to get around this is that we buy credits overseas which ignores the entire problem,” Nolan said. “Those credits say that if things go wrong we can buy from overseas, but hang on: our supply lines of communication by ship are likely to be either threatened or because of insurers nothing will come to us at all.”
Moreover, a chronic shortage of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel could render the Australian military immobile, and in these times where rhetoric and tensions over a war are high, that could prove disastrous for the country.
Well, Mad Max would be right at home.
Or, nothing will come of this at all.
Much like that story a year or two back, right here, that warned us about Sao Paulo, Brazil having 60(?)days of water supply left, and the city of millions was going to dry up and die.
Never heard a thing after that.
It rained.
They diverted a river.
Get Tina Turner down there stat. They need to start a pig farm right now…
They should literally do that.
What a crappy headline for this article. Australia is a highly developed 1st world nation. Sure, they could have energy shortage issues, just like the US and Europe have had in the past. They will not allow their country to passively lose all energy sources. They will take the necessary steps to deal with energy issues just like they would for any problem. To say Australia could be Mad Max in 43 days is both stupid and insulting.
“Australia is a highly developed 1st world nation”
so was Venezuela.
Not saying its correct that they will go “mad max” but to thing they are limited to “first world problems” simply because they are currently first world is shortsighted and silly. Particularly for a (large) island nation.
“Australia is at risk of running out of fuel in the next few weeks due to the ongoing conflict in Syria.”
If it does it serves them right. There are massive producing oil & gas fields off Indonesia, SE Asia, New Zealand, etc; from which they need to be buying their oil & gas rather than ship it from SA/ME: not to mention the GIANTS that are untapped within Australia’s interior and on its continental shelf.
If that were not potential enough, HUMONGOUS solar power stations in the outback could be built to supply ALL of Australia’s power needs. Australia needs to aggressively develop these energy resources, like the US developed the Interstate Highway System, or like the US developed the interior of the USA by giving land to the railroads.
If Aussie’s are too busy having fun and drinking beer to think about and create their future, they deserve whatever happens to them. Lights Out !!! 🙂
” HUMONGOUS solar power stations in the outback could be built to supply ALL of Australia’s power needs.”
Funny thing… then in fact the Humongous would rule the wasteland, thus completing the Mad Max prophesy!
Ketchup, good points. I never heard anything more about that Brazil deal either.
Australia could buy more oil from Russia in exchange for Gold.
If they did this, would the US fire missles at Australia and kill their leader if they stray from the petro dollar??.
My Diesel fuel comes from Canada, very reliable.
Most my gasoline comes from a relatively
local refinery feed by oil from Singapore.
Some gas comes from California
refineries.
I’m on a little ~4,000 square mile
island.
Hard to believe an entire nation, a continent,
is more at risk, than my tiny little island,
which is way more remote than any place on earth.
Relic:
What’s it called?
_
The Island: What is the name of it? If you don’t mind saying.
__
opsec. He’s not an idiot.
the larger the infrastructure, the more points of failure.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/3493934868/60e1d612e9bcac907a9d50e8b5efb936.png
We would be happy to sell them whatever they need.
This is similar to a rolling black-out. We all get used to periodic shortages, outages. “nothing unusual, just the damned ….’lektrik cumpnee’ is all” type reaction. Sort of like how we all have lost any real attention given to a car alarm going off in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Get the sheep used to the sheep-dog so when the wolf comes, they’ll just march right into his mouth.
what if, this might, that might, take cover, stock up,…..utter tosh from the tabloids all over the world…..time for a cup of tea,
As time passes, the new oil and gas discoveries seem to be made in more inaccessible places with unstable governments. The oil they are finding has higher refining costs. Since energy prices are incorporated into the prices for about everything we buy, we’ll need wheelbarrows of money to buy a basket of goods.
A gal of gas is up .20 in the last week in my area. Another scam. The US is producing so much energy they have no place to put it. Any Global conflict the price gets jacked up. They want $5 gas.
Austrailia should RUN OUT OF FORCED VACCINATIONS AND STOP OPPRESSING PEOPLE WITH FALSE SCIENCE. TOO MANY ARE BEING INJURED FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!
The president/head of Austr? His wife sits on a vaccine board. No wonder the truth can’t come out…
lucky thing they gave up their guns (sarcasm)
I think world energy resources need to come under a new mandate. Where they exist and that state is unstable and not obedient to the rule of law, then that resource needs to come under international mandate.
Doing this would bring greater peace and stability. The US seems to me to be the best force to do this. This can include secure borders using the latest e-tech so that the third world residents in these places do not leach out into the West as they do now. This would be good for global security: no need to accommodate to upity Somalis on the streets of Stockholm etc.
“…the government has decided it’s cheaper to do it overseas,” said Dr. Davis.
It’s called resale.
The problem with rising gas prices is that they don’t go up by themselves;they cause virtually all prices to go up. Fossil fuel energy is needed with almost every human activity except sex. I can’t help but wonder if technology is being suppressed that would make energy almost cost-free.
Stop the worrying and speculating, and get prepared for a petrol shortage.Australia’s problems are their own, not ours. If you want your rolling avalanche of terrible things, look no further than the US. Our entire system is petroleum dependent. Think for yourself, get into solar and wind and hydraulic power. If you’re independent of the fuel system here, you’re 90% ahead of everyone else. It would not take much at all to wreck this country’s energy grid and systems. We are dependent on it more than you may think. Preparing for tough times is the thing, not the threat.
I hope they never run out of fuel. This conflict has took so long to get solved.