Petrol prices have continued to fall despite yesterday's fire at a Geelong oil refinery, but Australians could still face "severe" economic consequences, the treasurer warns.
There were concerns fuel supply could have been gutted by the fire at the Viva Energy oil refinery, but the average price for petrol is actually expected to drop below $2/litre across the country over the weekend as global prices fall.
Visiting the stricken plant today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the impact to fuel production at the refinery had been limited.
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"Eighty per cent of diesel production is continuing, 80 per cent of aviation fuel [production] is continuing," he said.
Imports are helping replace any lost supply, and experts say the trends are positive.
"We're getting up close toward 40 days of petrol, so these are good trends," ANU supply chains expert David Leaney said.
The good news may stop there, if the warning from Treasurer Jim Chalmers is anything to go by.
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"The consequences of this conflict on the other side of the world are already very serious for Australians and they risk becoming severe," he said in Washington DC today.
He believes Australia won't head towards a recession, but that economic growth could slowed considerably.
It remains to be seen how this will impact the budget, set to be handed down next month.
While the fuel supply situation is improving, some want more to be done to ensure Australia is never in this position again.
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Queensland Premier David Crisafulli called on the government to open a third oil refinery in Gladstone.
Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor agreed, saying Australia needed to get its hands dirty and produce more oil.
"We've got to get more oil out of the ground," he said.
"We've got to drill, drill, drill."
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