Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, two of Australia's four crude-oil refiners, published apologies in newspapers yesterday for shortages of gasoline in the Sydney region amid accusations of unwarranted price increases.
Shell's V-Power, 95-octane unleaded and premium unleaded gasoline have been unavailable "for some weeks" in New South Wales because of the shutdown of a refinery unit, the company said in the Sun-Herald.
BP cited production issues at local refineries and constraints on imports for an "unprecedented level" of fuel supply shortages.
Shell said in January it halted its catalytic cracking unit at the Clyde refinery in Sydney after "erratic" performance, bringing forward a shutdown for maintenance. The NRMA motoring organization said it is monitoring prices and reporting price discrepancies to the national competition regulator.
"I want to reassure you that everyone at Shell is working hard to restore refinery supplies to normal and to minimize the impact of this supply disruption," Shell in Australia chairman Russell Caplan said in a "message to customers" published in the Sun-Herald.
Sydney's average retail price yesterday was A$1.436 (US$1.29) a liter, A$0.04 higher than the "suggested fair price," NRMA said on its Web site.
The group said on March 11 it would publish a daily "fair price," using factors including the Singapore refined price, the exchange rate and shipping charges.
Any discrepancy will be reported to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), until the government's recently appointed Petrol Commissioner Pat Walker takes up his role, NRMA said.
Increases in pump prices across the country in the lead-up to Easter were "broadly in line with the types of rises we see every week," Chris Bowen, minister for competition policy and consumer affairs, said on Channel Nine Networks' program yesterday, citing Graeme Samuel, the chairman of the competition regulator.
"The ACCC has been very active in the lead-up to Easter to ensure that there is no price gouging, ensure there is no anti-competitive conduct," Bowen said.
NRMA disagrees.
Prices reached as much as A$1.50 a liter at the start of the Easter holiday weekend and traded within a wider weekly range than usual, indicating oil companies were taking advantage of motorists, NRMA president Alan Evans told Sky News.
New South Wales Minister for Fair Trading Linda Burney said on Thursday that investigators were monitoring prices and availability through the Easter holiday weekend. The investigators had the power to open up tanks to verify fuel companies' claims that they were empty, she said in an e-mailed statement.
Burney said she had been seeking answers as to why there are shortages of premium gas on Tuesdays, when prices are discounted nationwide. Four hundred people have contacted Fair Trading about supply problems, she said.
"We expect that your premium fuel of choice will become more readily available over the coming weeks," BP said in ads placed in the Sun-Herald and the Sunday Telegraph.
Caltex Australia Ltd, the nation's biggest refiner, said it had unplanned shutdowns at both of its plants. The refiner said on Feb. 22 that the shutdown of a diesel unit at the Kurnell refinery in Sydney for maintenance was expected to end by Easter.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS