According to Bloomberg's report on October 10th, Australia stated that there is no need to purchase fuel from Russia, and it will continue to ban purchases from Russia in order to prevent Russia from benefiting from such transactions.
Australian Minister of Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, said at a press conference in Western Sydney on Saturday local time: "We don’t need, nor do we want, Russian fuel to enter Australia. We don’t want Vladimir Putin to benefit from this Middle Eastern war. What the United States does is its own business, but we will not change our approach."
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 8th that a series of goods would be shipped starting this month, with a preliminary total of approximately 13.5 million barrels. He is working with Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply Russian diesel to the global market. This move overturns years of sanctions, as the White House is trying to stabilize soaring fuel prices before the U.S. midterm elections.
Bowen also said that Australia's gasoline inventories can meet demands for 43 days, which is two more days than a week ago; diesel inventories can meet demands for 31 days, which is one day less than a week ago.
However, according to a series of reports by the Sydney Herald-Advocate for the years 2025 to 2026, despite clear restrictions in Australia, investigations revealed that the country indirectly imported a large amount of refined oil products made from Russian crude oil through refineries in third countries, mainly India.
Reports estimate that the amount of such indirect imports could reach billions of dollars between 2023 and mid-2025. This is criticized as a “hole” in the sanctions, as Australian sanctions primarily target crude oil and products directly from Russia, and do not fully cover Russian crude oil refined in third countries.
