The Australian federal government has considerably ramped up supplies of diesel exhaust fuel, a vital anti-pollutant fluid, in a move to ensure the operations of the freight and logistics sector.
Under an agreement with the federal government, fertiliser manufacturer Incitec Pivot has boosted the local production of AdBlue, a type of diesel exhaust fuel, by 800 percent to cope with the domestic shortage.
Angus Taylor, the federal energy minister, said that Incitec Pivot’s output could already reach more than three million litres (about 790,000 gallons) of AdBlue a week, which can satisfy 75 percent of Australia’s demand.
“While Australia currently has sufficient volumes of AdBlue to meet its needs, this local production will help restore normal national stock levels,” he said in a statement.
According to Taylor, a small number of sites across Australia may experience an AdBlue shortage from time to time; however, he has confidence that supply issues would soon be resolved as Incitec Pivot set up a distribution facility providing 24-hour delivery in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, the Australian government is also seeking to obtain extra AdBlue supplies from international sources.
“To ensure stocks can be replenished across the country, I continue to encourage industry to purchase stocks only when needed and at normal levels,” Taylor said.
Last December, Incitec Pivot consented to increase urea production, a key AdBlue ingredient. At that time, the country’s stockpile could only last for about seven weeks due to China’s export ban of the chemical.
Taylor said on Jan. 24 that Incitec Pivot would soon start experimenting on manufacturing technical grade urea with an additive purchased in Germany.
“The government response to bring the industry together and support additional domestic production has improved the supply situation, and we will work with government to review purchase limits in place across the industry as we move forward,” Matt Halliday, the managing director and CEO of Australian petroleum company AMPOL, said.
