* Vietnam, China restrict exports to ensure local

availability

* Many Cambodia petrol stations reopen after a third were

closed last week

* Cambodia energy minister says stockpiles near

historical average

* Cambodia in talks with Australia's Woodside for LNG

supply

* Renewables expansion helped cushion oil shock, minister

says

By Sudarshan Varadhan

SINGAPORE, March 18 (Reuters) - Cambodia is importing

more fuel from suppliers in Singapore and Malaysia to make up

for supply shortfalls from Vietnam and China, its energy

minister told Reuters on Wednesday, as the U.S.-Israeli war on

Iran squeezes fuel availability globally.

About a third of the 6,300 petrol stations in the country of

nearly 18 million people closed last week due to uncertainty

over the impact of the conflict on fuel prices, but only 5.77%

are closed currently, Energy Minister Keo Rottanak told

Reuters.

Vietnam and China have restricted fuel exports until at least

the end of March to arrest potential domestic shortages.

Cambodia and neighbouring Thailand stopped fuel trade after the

onset of an armed conflict in July.

Thailand and Vietnam together accounted for over 60% of

Cambodia's annual petroleum product imports in 2024, while

Singapore and Malaysia made up nearly a third and China

accounted for around 7%, according to data from International

Trade Centre, a Geneva-based UN-WTO trade agency.

Rottanak said Cambodia was boosting imports from Singapore and

Malaysia due to export restrictions elsewhere, adding that

existing suppliers are also trying to export fuel despite

tightening supply.

"We're still able to import a little bit from China. But

because we have strong partnerships with global suppliers Total

and Chevron ( CVX ), they are able to mitigate some of

the risk," he said in an interview with Reuters.

Rottanak did not provide specifics on when the supplies from

Singapore and Malaysia would arrive, but said current fuel

stockpiles were comparable to historical levels.

Gasoline and diesel exports from the two countries to

Cambodia in the first 18 days of this month were 25% higher than

the same period last year, but 40% lower than in the final 18

days of February, Kpler data showed.

Cambodia has no oil refinery, and has less than a month's

supply of diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and petrol

under normal conditions, Rottanak said.

"We are not yet 100% insulated at this stage, but the inflow

seems to be okay for the time being," he said.

ENERGY SECURITY THROUGH RENEWABLES, AUSTRALIAN LNG

Rottanak said the government held preliminary talks this month

with Australia's Woodside Energy ( WDS ) to secure liquefied

natural gas (LNG) supplies for a 900-megawatt power plant

expected to start generation next year, adding that Australian

supplies helped hedge against geopolitical risks.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has choked LNG shipments to Asia

and threatened to suppress LNG demand, as shipping through a

major waterway that connects the Middle East to Asia has all but

stopped and No.2 global exporter Qatar has halted shipments.

"In light of our commitment to diversify, we have been

talking with Australia's Woodside to potentially supply LNG for

our first-ever LNG-fired power plant," he said.

Woodside declined to comment.

Cambodia has been partly shielded from the shock by a rapid

buildout of renewable energy, Rottanak said, adding that fuel

imports have largely remained stable from 2022 levels due to

renewables-led electrification.

"Because of renewable energy, we are in a way less

susceptible to 100% shock from the oil in the Middle East," he

said, adding that the conflict highlights the need to expedite

interconnection grids of countries in the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"Situations like this should remind all of us that an ASEAN

power grid is the way to go. We would be much, much more

resilient than we are today," he said.