Tuesday 8 October 2024: A new NRMA deep-dive into the Australian fuel industry has uncovered the growing gap in prices between E10 and premium fuels and Australia’s growing reliance on Asian refineries to source the fuel needed to keep the country moving.
The Making Cents of Fuel report has found that since 2012 the gap between E10 and regular unleaded in Sydney fell 0.1 cents per litre (cpl) to 1.4 cents per litre. By contrast, Premium 98 rose 7.2 cents to 24.6 cpl and Premium 95 rose 6.1 cents to 19.1 cpl.
The report showed the significance of this growing price gap with Premium 98 sales now representing 15.7 per cent of the 8.2 billion litres of fuel sold in NSW over the last year.
Since 2010/11 fuel sales have increased 5.7 per cent however of concern to the NRMA is the plummeting sales of E10 (fall of 51%) and regular unleaded (fall of 13.1%) – Australia’s cheapest fuels – while premium fuel sales rose 18.8 per cent over that time.
Diesel continues to be the dominant retail fuel type sold in NSW with 3.18 billion litres sold last year (10.5 billion nationwide), representing almost 39 per cent of the total fuel sales. Two-thirds of all fuel diesel sold in Australia is sold under contract to Australia’s largest industries.
Making Cents of Fuel also details the role of price cycles in influencing prices in Australia’s largest capital cities. Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne price cycles varied from 11 to 68 days and have grown longer over time, exposing motorists in those cities to higher prices.
As a result, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart are all cheaper in order than Australia’s largest cities. Worryingly, more regional towns are now on average cheaper than Sydney including Newcastle, Queanbeyan, Albury, Bathurst, Dubbo and Port Macquarie. T
he NRMA has released Making Sense of Fuel to help Australians better understand the fuel industry. Earlier this month the NRMA unveiled a suite of measures through its my NRMA rewards app designed to help motorists navigate fuel cycles and save money at the bowser.
The average family in Sydney is now spending almost $5,400 filling up annually.
NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said giving Australians a detailed understanding of the nation’s relationship with fuel and in particular the fuel price cycles, which are unique to Australia, would ultimately help them save money at the bowser.
“Understanding fuel is more important than ever as the nation struggles with inflationary pressures and the budgets of Australian families buckle under the strain of volatile and fluctuating fuel costs – addressing this challenge is a major priority for the NRMA,” Mr Khoury said.
“The longer price cycles in Australia’s largest cities have left Australians living there exposed to higher prices , however if we can help families navigate their way around these cycles we can help them save hundreds of dollars a year.
“Also, while much of the diesel sold in Australia issued by industry to keep the country running, Making Cents of Fuel has also highlighted the growing popularity of and premium fuels at the expense of cheaper E10 and regular unleaded.
“Many light vehicles in Australia can run on E10 so of growing concern to the NRMA is that too many motorists are paying significantly more at the pump – on average almost 25 cents per litre more – for fuel – without receiving any perceived benefits.
”Making Cents of Fuel highlighted Australia’s growing dependence on imports of fuel, rising from 28.5 per cent in 2010/11 to almost 84 per cent in 23/24. Almost all of the diesel used in Australia is now imported at 93 per cent.
Australia’s refining capacity has fallen 72 per cent since 2003 with only two remaining refineries in Brisbane and Geelong capable of refining a combined 14,000 megalitres of fuel. The largest refinery in Asia can refine up to 70,000 megalitres of fuel.
Last year Australia imported 9,816 megalitres of crude oil - down 69 per cent since 2010/11. Australia’s main suppliers are:
- Malaysia 40.5%
- The United States 16.9%; and
- Vietnam 12.8%.
By contrast, Australia has seen an almost four-fold increase in refined fuel imported into the country over the same timeframe. Almost all refined fuels imported into Australia now coming from Asia with the nation’s main suppliers:
- Korea 31.9%
- Singapore 22.6; and
- Malaysia 13.2%.
Making Cents of Fuel found that 8.2 billion litres of fuel are sold in Australia annually. The number of service stations across Australia fell from over 22,000 in the 1960s to 6,500 in 2011 before rising to around 8,000 this year. The industry generates over $38 billion in sales each year.
