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Australian Minister for Energy lowers fuel standards for 60 days amid rising oil prices, panic buying

World ·

Australian Minister for Energy lowers fuel standards for 60 days amid rising oil prices, panic buying

Photo: This W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Australia has a fuel problem. Fuel prices went up very fast to more than $2 per liter. People started buying a lot of fuel and keeping it at home. This made the problem worse. The government decided to allow a lower quality fuel for 60 days. This fuel has more sulfur in it. Before, Australia sent this fuel to other countries. Now Australians can use it. The government will also release 100 million liters of saved fuel each month. Farmers in the countryside need fuel most. They use diesel to collect crops, move crops, and give food to the country. Australia does not have enough fuel saved. It has 36 days of petrol, 32 days of diesel, and 29 days of jet fuel. But the rules say it should have 90 days saved.

Difficult words

stockpile
— To collect and store large amounts of something in case it runs out later
reserve
— A supply of something saved by a government and kept for emergencies

Quiz

  1. 1. How long is Australia allowed to use the lower quality fuel?
  2. 2. How much saved fuel will the government release each month?
  3. 3. How many days of diesel fuel does Australia currently have saved?