Australia and New Zealand energy-market strain.
prob 0.30
severity 2.3 / 5 · revision 2026-05-05monitoring · Australia + New Zealand · gas + hydro power$ shortage country get AUS > stress_index: 0.30 STABLE > 1 events · 1 scenarios > refreshed 2026-05-17
BRENT $84.27 ▲ TTF €31.50 ▼ OPEC_SP 3.8 mb/d ● SPR_US 372.4 Mb FAO_FFPI 121.4 ▲
The v3.2 stress index is a six-axis composite of energy and food exposure, geopolitical pressure, fiscal headroom, demography and supply concentration, normalised to a 0–1 scale.
Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of LNG, coal and iron ore, and a major grain producer with a vast food surplus. Yet it imports most of its refined fuel after domestic refinery closures, and its oil stocks have long sat below the IEA's 90-day standard — its principal energy-security weakness.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent and swings between severe drought and flooding rains across the Murray–Darling basin.
| STOCK TYPE | RESERVE | DAYS COVER | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas and coal · production for exportAustralia is among the world's largest LNG and coal exporters. | world-leading | — | STABLE |
| Oil · refined-product importsRefinery closures have left Australia reliant on imported fuel, with stocks below the IEA standard. | ~60 days | 60days | WATCH |
| Grain · large exportable surplusAustralia is a major wheat exporter with a vast structural food surplus. | very large | 250days | STABLE |
| Iron ore and critical minerals · productionAustralia is the world's top iron-ore exporter and a major lithium producer. | world-leading | — | STABLE |
$ curl -s https://api.shortage.life/v1/countries/AUS | jq '.stress' > 0.30