The Western Australian Government has formed an agreement to purchase an additional 8 million litres of diesel for the state’s strategic stockpile.
This is in addition to the 4 million litres of diesel WA purchased for $10 million earlier this month, taking the total amount of diesel owned by the state to 12 million litres.
The eight million litres was offered to government by Rio Tinto, and will be purchased from their supplier, Viva Energy.
It is expected to be net debt neutral, with the WA Government purchasing the fuel and selling it onto areas of acute need.
This fuel is in addition to normal import allocations of fuel for WA and will be stored at Esperance and Kwinana.
From these sites, the government will direct fuel to where it is most needed, including to regional communities and to agriculture sectors in the Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions.
WA Premier Roger Cook said, “I will always do what is right for Western Australia, and that’s why my government has established a strategic fuel stockpile for WA.
“I thank Rio Tinto for their leadership in proactively reaching out to government and offering up this diesel.
“We will continue to work around the clock to secure fuel supply for Western Australians and keep costs down.”
Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson added, “Western Australia is different to other states. We have a vast terrain and a number of priority areas and industries that need access quickly and efficiently to diesel.
“This strategic stockpile will be a lifeline for areas of acute need such as our regional communities and our farmers.
“That’s why it makes sense for us to have our own WA based stockpile with allocations stored in key areas easily accessible to the Kimberley, the Wheatbelt and the Goldfields-Esperance region.”