where does australia get its oil

Australia covers its oil needs mainly by importing crude and refined petroleum products from nearby Asian refineries, with only a smaller share coming from its own oil fields.

Big picture: how Australia gets its oil

• Australia is a net importer of oil – it uses more oil than it produces.

• Most of the fuel you see at petrol stations (petrol, diesel, jet fuel, LPG) is imported as refined products , not just as crude oil.

• Domestic crude oil production is concentrated offshore (especially the North West Shelf), but much of that crude is exported because it does not match the specifications of Australia’s remaining refineries.

Main supplier countries

For day‑to‑day fuel use, Australia relies heavily on refineries in Asia. In recent years, the leading suppliers of refined petroleum have included:

• South Korea – the single largest source of refined petroleum products in 2024 by import volume.

• Singapore – historically a dominant hub for Australia’s petroleum product imports, acting as a key trading and refining center in the Asia‑Pacific region.

• Other Asian refiners – including countries such as Japan, Malaysia, and others that appear in the top 15 petroleum import origins.

These imports arrive mainly as finished fuel (petrol, diesel, jet fuel) ready for distribution in Australia’s cities and regions.

Domestic production vs imports

• Most of Australia’s domestic crude is produced offshore in Western and Northern Australia, especially around the North West Shelf.

• Local crude grades are often not ideal for Australia’s refineries , which are better configured for certain imported crudes, so a portion of local crude is exported while refineries import more suitable feedstock.

• Over the last decade, as several refineries have closed, Australia has become increasingly reliant on imported refined fuel rather than importing crude and refining it at home.

Recent twist: indirect Russian oil

• Since 2023, a notable share of Australia’s fuel imports from India has been made from Russian crude oil that is refined in large Indian refineries (especially Jamnagar) and then shipped on as diesel, petrol, and jet fuel.

• Between early 2023 and mid‑2025, Australia imported billions of dollars’ worth of oil products from Indian refineries whose feedstock included discounted Russian crude, effectively making Australia an indirect buyer of Russian oil via the global refining system.

Simple takeaway

Australia gets its oil mostly from:

1. Imports of refined fuel from Asian refining hubs such as South Korea and Singapore (plus other regional suppliers).

2. Some imported crude oil for the remaining domestic refineries.

3. Domestic offshore oil production , which plays a secondary role in meeting total demand and is partly exported due to refinery compatibility issues.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.