00:01Well, the two leaders held their bilateral meeting here, just near the Astana where I'm
00:05standing now, and they've basically agreed to what we had expected, a beefed up version
00:10of their commitment to maintain the flow of both fuel and gas between the two nations.
00:14The statement reading, in their words, we stated our determination to make maximum efforts
00:20to meet each other's energy security needs during this acute energy crisis the world
00:25is experiencing.
00:25Casey, we know that Singapore is our number one supplier of petrol and number two supplier
00:30of diesel and jet fuel, but Australia supplies Singapore with about a third of the LNG that
00:35it needs to run its electricity system.
00:38So it's very much a reciprocal relationship, and the two leaders today spoke a lot about
00:42the trust between the two nations, the very long relationship between the two countries,
00:48and the fact that both are determined to keep trade open, despite the fact that the closure
00:54of the Strait of Hormuz has completely disrupted global oil supply chains.
01:00When it comes to the Prime Minister, the Australian Prime Minister's perspective, he was asked basically
01:05what his priority is right now, and this is how he answered.
01:10We have three priorities when it comes to energy, both now and certainly in the immediate period.
01:24They are supply, supply and supply. That is our priority. That is what we are focused on. That is what
01:33I'm engaged with.
01:35Jane, that's what the Prime Minister's engaged on, but the Singaporean PM was also asked there about export controls. What
01:41did he have to say?
01:43Yeah, well, so Singapore has three huge refineries, and actually the Prime Minister toured them this morning on Jurong Island,
01:49the massive industrial hub just off Singapore.
01:52But those refineries, they process about one and a half million barrels of crude oil a day, but a lot
01:59of that crude oil comes through the Strait of Hormuz, and as supplies have tightened, the refineries themselves have scaled
02:06back production.
02:06Now, when that's happened, recently, other Asian nations have started to impose export controls, and so really the big fear
02:13for Australia is that if the Singaporean refineries have to scale back production, would the Singaporean government then seek to
02:20curb exports in any way?
02:22Well, the answer from Lawrence Wong, the Singaporean Prime Minister, was simply no. His country has no intention of curbing
02:28exports.
02:29It didn't need to during COVID, and it certainly has no intention of doing so now.
02:33So, effectively, the two leaders will walk away from this bilateral meeting with a statement containing encouraging words.
02:41They're both clearly taking each other at their word, but certainly no binding agreements or binding commitments when it comes
02:47to supply.
02:48As far as Australia is concerned, our suppliers are assured many weeks into May, we're told, but it's really what
02:55happens after that the government is becoming concerned about.
03:01You
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