Jet Fuel Supply

Question

1) The Prime Minister has announced three jet fuel shipments totalling 600,000 barrels from China following the Foreign Minister's engagement in China to secure supply. Who are the specific Chinese suppliers - and are they state-owned entities, private companies, or both? 2) Reports identified Sinopec as coordinating the discussions. Can the Secretary confirm that Sinopec is the primary Chinese counterpart in these fuel supply negotiations? 3) What commercial terms - price, volume, delivery schedule, currency of settlement -apply to the three confirmed shipments? Were any concessions made by Australia in return for China facilitating this supply? 4) Obviously China's output of jet fuel for export has decreased. Which countries did Australia displace from their normal access to Chinese jet fuel by securing our increased access? If we didn't displace any countries, how did our access actually improve? 5) Australia had approximately 28 days of jet fuel supply as of late April 2026 - the lowest of the three main fuel types. Can the Department guarantee the agreement with China increased the supply of jet fuel we currently hold? 6) In your assessment, is Australia's dependence on a single country - China - for roughly one-third of its jet fuel a strategic vulnerability? And what is the government's target for diversifying jet fuel supply sources over the next three years?

Answer

Please see attached answer.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• QoN 162.pdf (opens in a new tab)