One of the nation's biggest fuel suppliers expects a record profit as a blockade pushed up prices. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)One of the nation's biggest fuel suppliers expects a record profit as a blockade pushed up prices. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAPThe conflict in the Middle East has driven a massive spike in earnings for Australia's biggest fuel company, which owns one of the nation's critical oil refineries. Ampol noted that the fuel supply issues caused by restrictions in the flow of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz tightened the availability of refined product onshore. Refinery production rose 8.7 per cent to 2945 million litres, while Australian fuel sales rose by 2.8 per cent.