Brig Mark Baldock
Director General Fuel Capability Department of Defence
Main Conference - 4th August 2026
2:00 PM CASE STUDY | Building Fuel Assurance for Sustained Operations in Northern Australia
A ground-level look at fuel supply vulnerabilities in Northern Australia and the pathways being pursued to address them.
Key Takeaways:
- Understanding the extent of Northern Australia's fuel vulnerability
- Pathways to reduce reliance on imported refined petroleum products while maintaining operational capability
- Infrastructure and logistics investments required to strengthen fuel supply resilience
- Lessons from operational planning that can inform national fuel assurance strategy
2:30 PM PANEL DISCUSSION | Building Domestic Energy and Supply Chain Depth
Moving beyond the diagnosis to examine what sovereign fuel resilience requires.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Understanding the scale of reliance Australia has on imported fuel and energy products
- Exploring how Defence can integrate domestic and alternative fuel sources
- Finding and reducing bottlenecks within the current supply chain
- Policy and investment levers to accelerate sovereign fuel and logistics resilience
