Reliant on imported fuel, Pacific islands appeal for help as oil prices surge

Samoa and Tonga raise supply concerns with foreign partners as businesses and residents in Papua New Guinea grapple with higher fuel prices amid the Iran war The leaders of some Pacific countries have appealed for help with oil supplies while others urge against “panic buying” as the import-reliant nations grapple with fears over possible fuel shortages and escalating costs caused by war in the Middle East. Oil prices have surged to nearly $110 a barrel after strikes against energy infrastructure in Iran and the Gulf states. “Pacific island nations are especially vulnerable to fuel supply disruptions and rising costs because [most countries] rely almost entirely on imported fuel,” Paul Barker, executive director at the Institute of National Affairs in Papua New Guinea, said. “Many of these economies are relatively weak, with limited purchasing power and strong reliance on remittances and foreign aid, leaving them exposed to global price shocks,” Barker said. He added that higher fuel costs threaten key industries such as tourism and “make delivering basic government services to remote islands increasingly difficult”. In Samoa, about two-thirds of the country’s energy generation com