Anthony Albanese is in Singapore, travelling to the Asian city-state to meet his counterpart, Lawrence Wong. The two prime ministers hold a leaders’ meeting annually, but the summit takes on a new focus this year, with the fuel crisis likely at the top of the agenda.
So, why is Singapore so important to Australia’s fuel stocks, and why did Albanese bring forward the meeting, which was due to be held later in the year? And what will come from it?
Why is Albanese in Singapore?
The prime minister arrived in Singapore late on Thursday, after flying from Sydney – via a stop in Brisbane to visit the Ampol refinery. On Friday he will meet Wong, Singapore’s prime minister.
Their annual meeting, according to Albanese, will “continue discussions on securing trade in essential supplies, including petroleum oils, such as diesel and liquefied natural gas”.
While Singapore does not extract large amounts of crude oil, it is one of the three biggest fuel refining hubs in the world, processing about 1.3m barrels per day.
Albanese will on Friday visit Jurong Island, the home of Singapore’s oil refining industries, where he will visit fuel facilities. The human-made island houses facilities owned by the likes of ExxonMobil.
Later, Albanese will meet Wong at the Istana, the prime ministerial palace and office in Singapore. The pair will hold a leaders’ meeting – which is expected to focus on energy and economic security between the two nations – then a joint press conference. This trip is Albanese’s third official visit to Singapore as prime minister.
“This is a relationship of trust and of mutual interest as well. We know that it is in both of our countries’ interests to engage with each other to make sure that we are both reliable suppliers,” Albanese said upon arrival in Singapore.
“We have each other’s word and indeed we have each other’s back at this time.”
Why is Singapore important?
Because of economic ties and fuel. Singapore is our largest trade partner in south-east Asia, and considered one of Australia’s closest strategic and economic partners. Trade between the two countries was worth nearly $48bn in 2024-25, making Singapore our sixth-largest trading partner globally.
The relationship is, in no small part, built on the exchange of fossil fuels. Australia is Singapore’s second biggest supplier of LNG, while Singapore is Australia’s largest supplier of petrol.
Singapore makes up more than a quarter of Australia’s total refined fuel imports, including 55% of our petrol, 22% of jet fuel and 15% of diesel worth more than $10bn. Australia supplies 32% of Singapore’s LNG, worth about $5bn.
The Middle East conflict has shaken both nations: Australia is facing potential shortfalls of oil, petrol and diesel, while Iran’s targeting of LNG facilities in Qatar has threatened Singapore’s gas supply.
Government sources have said Australia would seek to use the “leverage” of our major exports of natural gas and coal to ensure oil imports continued.
Albanese and Wong last month released a joint statement reaffirming that the two nations would continue trading in energy, committing to “support the flow of essential goods including petroleum oils, such as diesel, and liquefied natural gas between our two countries”.
There has been growing concern from energy experts that nations will start keeping oil for their own domestic consumption instead of exporting their usual amounts, following a statement from Malaysia last month that the country’s government would “prioritise our own needs”. While Singapore has made no such public threats, Albanese will be keen to ensure petrol supplies keep flowing to Australia.
What could come of the meeting?
The Australian side has not raised expectations of any major new fuel supply deal to come from Albanese’s visit, but the prime minister’s admission that the two leaders brought forward their meeting from later in the year has raised expectations that the summit could have a tangible outcome.
Asked on Thursday what he would consider a successful meeting, Albanese responded: “Success looks like us going to Singapore; success looks like the relationship that we have built, the agreement of the statement that we’ve already made between myself and prime minister Wong.
“We don’t pre-empt one-on-one meetings at leaders’ levels, but the fact that we have been welcomed on relatively short notice to Singapore speaks about the strength of the relationship.”
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, said Singapore could be one of the nations from which Australian refineries could source new fuel shipments, under a new export finance arrangement where the government will underwrite the cost of purchasing new fuel supplies.
The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, demanded that Albanese return from Singapore with assurances that Australian fuel supplies would continue arriving unimpeded.
“We need to know what fuel is going to come from Singapore without cancellations and without delays,” he said.
What else has the government been doing in Asia?
Albanese and his ministers – including Penny Wong, Don Farrell and Richard Marles – have been pressing our close allies and partners to ensure fuel keeps flowing to Australia. Albanese’s office has in recent days disclosed conversations with leaders in China and Brunei, focused on fuel security. Marles last week visited Japan, and Wong and Farrell have been working the phones, while Albanese’s Singapore dash is likely to soon be followed by other visits to key partners.
The assistant foreign affairs minister, Matt Thistlethwaite, reiterated on Thursday how important Asian partners were to Australia’s economic and fuel security, noting in a speech that more than 80% of Australia’s sea trade goes through Asian waters, including most of our minerals exports.
He added that more than three-quarters of Australia’s refined fuels come from Asia, including South Korea supplying a quarter of our diesel, China supplying a third of aviation fuel, Malaysia supplying more than 10% of all fuels, and Singapore supplying half of our petrol.
“Our economic security is inseparable from the stability of our region,” he said.
