The proprietor of a small-scale fuel distribution business has voiced concerns that rural areas throughout Australia may face petrol shortages within a matter of days. The blame, she insists, lies with major oil corporations.
Gretta Barton, who leads Bartranz Petroleum, a company focusing on bulk fuel delivery in Queensland and New South Wales, shared with Daily Mail that the predicament stems not from a lack of supply but from distribution challenges.
According to Barton, leading oil firms have ceased providing petrol to non-contractual fuel distributors, a group that plays a crucial role in serving agricultural regions.
“If this persists for another week, a significant number of people will encounter serious difficulties,” Barton warned.
Despite government reassurances of adequate fuel supplies, many independently operated petrol stations in Australia’s rural heartlands have already run dry.
The situation has been exacerbated by a wave of panic-buying, depleting stocks of E10 and unleaded petrol at regional independent retailers.
Ms Barton said the conflict in Iran was not the main reason fuel was drying up.
‘We had action in the Middle East which caused the price to spike but that’s been happening for years,’ she said.
Bartranz Petroleum’s Justin and Gretta Barton have issued a dire warning for regional Australia
‘We’ve been in this game for 30 years and every time that happens, prices spike. It’s nothing unusual.’
She said while panic buying was placing extra pressure on suppliers, it’s the big oil companies who were to blame.
Ms Barton said in an average week, Bartranz Petroleum would deliver a million litres to regional areas, but was cut overnight to 50,000 litres a day, or one truckload.
‘It’s become apparent that the four major oil companies, Ampol, Shell, BP and Viva, have the fuel supply but are keeping it for their inner-city retail sites and their contractors,’ Ms Barton said.
‘Rather than it being dispersed evenly to cover all industries, they’re keeping it all for themselves and are making an absolute killing while the likes of us in the next tier down, who do 90 per cent of the rural sector, are in a world of pain.’
The situation prompted MP James Lister to write to the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP) CEO Dr Malcolm Roberts on March 10.
He said it was ‘shameful’ that AIP members Ampol, Shell, BP and Viva decided to stop supplying petrol to non-contract fuel distributors.
‘Panic buying in the metropolitan retail fuel market has resulted in and extraordinary increase in your member companies’ profits,’ Lister wrote.
MP James Lister has described the conduct of Ampol, Shell, BP and Viva as ‘shameful’
‘Your member companies’ decision to abruptly cease supplying fuel to the bush and to divert that supply into service station networks is plainly not in the nature of routine hedging or risk management.’
Ms Barton said she and other independent suppliers have become frustrated with several narratives including that US President Donald Trump was to blame.
‘This is not a Donald Trump issue,’ she said.
‘This has exposed Australia’s vulnerability as far as refined product goes.
‘Even without major oil companies profiteering there’s clearly not enough fuel stored in our country that can be easily accessed.’
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said this week that Australia’s fuel supply was secure, but Ms Barton said he was being ‘clever’ with his words.
‘So we might have enough fuel here, but it’s not being distributed properly. That’s the problem,’ she said.
Ms Barton said her company currently cannot access enough diesel to run the business and get vital fuel to farmers.
Panic buying in the cities is not the only reason fuel is scarce in country regions
She warned that city-folk will soon feel the pain the bush is feeling when they go to the supermarket for their weekly shop.
‘All prices will have to go up. Trucking companies work on small margins and if their fuel all of a sudden costs $2.50 a litre they have to pass on those costs,’ she said.
‘It’s a time of year when farmers are using a lot of fuel and there’s crops ready to harvest and go in the ground.
‘There are also piggeries that rely on generator fuel. If the generators don’t run, all the animals die. That’s how critical things are.’
Daily Mail contacted Dr Roberts, Shell, Ampol, BP and Viva for comment.
