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Nick Toscano

Nick Toscano

Nick Toscano is a business reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.

Efforts to extinguish the blaze at the Geelong refinery.

Refinery boss moves to calm fuel crunch fears after major fire

The Geelong refinery has restored 80 per cent of overall production and is nearing full capacity in its crucial diesel and jet fuel units.

  • Nick Toscano and Mike Foley

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The average price for unleaded petrol has dropped below $2.10 a litre in Melbourne and Sydney for the first time since the Iran war started on February 28, choking off oil shipments from the Middle East.

Major chains under pressure as independent servos slash fuel prices

Major fuel retail chains face pressure to match price cuts and pass on savings to motorists.

  • Mike Foley and Nick Toscano

Refinery fire raises prospect of new emergency fuel-saving measures

The massive blaze at one of Australia’s two remaining refineries knocked out a fifth of its capacity, heightening fears about Australia’s fragile fuel security.

  • Nick Toscano, Lachlan Abbott, Alexander Darling, Patrick Hatch, Melissa Cunningham and Mike Foley
The Viva Energy plant fire has hit an already stretched fuel market.

Don’t panic, the Geelong fire shouldn’t spike Australian fuel prices

Geelong’s refinery continues to operate, and Viva Energy’s management is privately confident it will have “options to restore production” volumes.

  • Nick Toscano
A container ship sails past an oil refinery at Bukom Island in Singapore.

$200 a barrel: The oil contracts that show how fuel crisis could worsen

Asian refineries are paying surging premiums to get hold of immediately available oil, driving up the cost of petrol and diesel they will deliver to Australia.

  • Nick Toscano
Washington has announced it’s secured the support so far of 20 Western and Arab allies to bolster its maritime protection force.

Rough ride ahead: No relief at the pump yet as peace talks stall

Australian drivers may face a longer wait for relief at the petrol pump after the collapse of Middle East peace talks and an imminent US blockade of Iran’s oil.

  • Nick Toscano
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Chief executive of Singapore LNG Corporation Leong Wei Hung (left) with Albanese during a tour of the company on Jurong Island.

Australia in no position to ease Asian gas crunch, data shows

Prompted by the Iran war energy crisis, Australia and Singapore struck a deal under which the two countries pledged to continue supplying each other refined fuel and gas.

  • Nick Toscano
Australian iron ore giant Fortescue is fast-tracking the rollout of solar panels, wind turbines and batteries to power its mines in the Pilbara.

Mining giant speeds up plan to eliminate diesel use amid global crunch

Fortescue has cited the war in the Middle East as a major driver for the industry to end its reliance on volatile fossil fuels.

  • Nick Toscano
An oil tanker moored at a Viva Energy terminal in Sydney.

There are dozens of fuel ships on their way. Here’s when they’ll arrive, and how they’ll get here

Australia has opened its chequebook to buy up as much fuel as possible, as Anthony Albanese flies to Singapore seeking deals to bridge a looming shortfall.

  • Nick Toscano and Mike Foley
Iran has said it will allow safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz during a two week ceasefire.

Australian petrol prices to fall within the month – if US-Iran ceasefire holds

Iran says it will allow ships through the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks in co-ordination with its armed forces, but petrol price relief would not be immediate in Australia.

  • Nick Toscano, Mike Foley and Shane Wright