Albany answers diesel call

Albany came to the rescue when a Statewide diesel shortage left more than 100 service stations high and dry on the eve of the WA Day long weekend.

Slight discolouration to diesel imported by BP Australia meant it had to undergo tests to ensure it met Australian standards, leaving 124 service stations in Perth and regional WA out of diesel last Friday ahead of one of the State's busiest weekends of the year.

The Albany Advertiser understands 18 trucks of diesel left the Caltex Terminal at Albany Port last Thursday and another eight trucks on Friday, but a Caltex Australia spokesman said he could not confirm the numbers.

He said the fuel supplier diverted a number of trucks to Albany last week as part of its efforts to help maintain diesel supply in and around Perth. The spokesman said the Albany terminal, which can hold 14 million litres of diesel, usually supplied the regional city and surrounding regions.

"Normally Caltex supplies fuel to sites nearer to Perth from a separate terminal there," he said.

"Last week, there was a disruption to industry terminal facilities in Perth, so Caltex instead accessed its diesel supplies at Albany.

"These trucks carried diesel back to service stations and depots in affected areas."

Across the State last Wednesday, 20 sites were out of diesel and by Thursday 76 sites had run dry, according to FuelWatch manager Lynne Gould.

The situation was at its worst on Friday, but had started to improve by Saturday with only 101 sites out of diesel - 23 less than on Friday.

By Sunday, just 52 stations were without diesel.

While sites across the State struggled to supply diesel, Albany service stations were unaffected.

Some 37,422 metric tonnes of diesel and petrol was shipped to the Albany Port Caltex terminal in 2012-13. Petrol and diesel reaches the port from Fremantle, Port Lincoln, Adelaide and Singapore.