Billionaire Adrian Portelli announces plan to sell fuel for $1 per litre as he opens his first petrol station this week

By MAISY RAE and ASHLEY KNICKEL Published: 02:15, 22 April 2026 | Updated: 02:21, 22 April 2026 Australian billionaire Adrian Portelli has announced he will sell petrol for $1 per litre as he prepares to open his first petrol station. Portelli will open his first LMCT+ petrol station this week. The station is located in Preston, about 10km north of Melbourne's CBD, and he hopes it will be the first of many across Australia. Portelli, 36, said the discounted unleaded fuel will begin to pour from the bowser on Thursday. 'It's starting to sink in now, we are loading up for this week's launch,' Portelli said. However, there's a catch: only members of his subscription-based rewards club, LMCT+, will be able to access the discount. 'Members only, it's a soft launch, if you're not a member, become a member,' he said. Portelli said the service station, which is located on the corner of Gower Street and Plenty Road in Preston, about 10km north of Melbourne's CBD, would be one of many across Australia. Membership for LMCT+ starts at $19.99 per month. Adrian Portelli said the unleaded fuel will begin to pour from the bowser on Thursday  The $1 per litre discount will only apply to members of his subscription-based rewards club  Portelli has said 50 additional sites are already under negotiation, including locations beyond Victoria, with a national rollout expected to begin soon. It comes after fuel prices soared following the Iran war, prompting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to temporarily halve the fuel excise tax. The Albanese government has halved the fuel excise until June 30, which makes fuel 26.3 cents per litre cheaper, but economists have warned the fallout from the conflict is likely to last at least six months. During a press conference on Wednesday morning, Albanese would not be drawn on a potential extension of the fuel excise cut. He had just announced four cargoes carrying 200 million litres of diesel will soon arrive on Australian shores. 'We’ve been upfront about the uncertainty we face. If anyone here can tell me when the Middle East conflict will end, they’d be the only people in the world who know,' he said. 'Until then, we will keep acting - not sitting on our hands - and work with states, industry, and international partners to protect Australians.' The service station which is located in Preston,Victoria is expected to open this week (pictured is the concept image) The cargoes are expected to arrive in May or in the first week of June at ports in Brisbane, Geelong, Sydney and Kwinana, near Perth. Albanese said the government will continue to work with Ampol, Piper Gilles and other fuel suppliers to secure additional fuel supplies in the coming weeks. He said there are currently 61 ships carrying fuel on their way to Australia. Australia has also secured an additional 250,000 tonnes of fertiliser for farmers. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.