From Fiji to French Polynesia, how Pacific islands are uniquely vulnerable to the oil crisis

A port in the Cook islands, which is among the Pacific countries vulnerable to the oil crisis caused by the war in the Middle East. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

When 53-year-old Agbar Mohammad pulled into a petrol station in Fiji in May, he was expecting a queue. Instead, it was almost empty. “I could only see one or two cars at the service station, which was very unusual,” Mohammad says.

The reason became clear very quickly: as Mohammad filled his car, the numbers on the fuel pump climbed so much faster than the needle on his dashboard. Normally he would put in about $40 of fuel, but this time $100 barely got his 60-litre tank halfway full.