Anthony Albanese is hoping talks with his Singaporean counterpart will lead to a boost in domestic fuel supply amid the conflict in the Middle East.
The prime minister flew out of Australia on Thursday morning ahead of a bilateral meeting with Singapore's leader Lawrence Wong on Friday.
Trade in petrol and diesel along with energy will feature heavily in discussions, with Singapore the largest supplier of refined petrol to Australia, accounting for more than half its intake.
Mr Albanese said a strengthening of ties with Singapore would be crucial as global oil supplies are impacted by the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
"I'm looking forward to a constructive meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong tomorrow. This is an important relationship," he told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday.
"We have spent four years building relationships in our region, particularly with ASEAN leaders.
"The relationship we have is a critical one, and of course Singapore is a major supplier of fuel to Australia."
The prime minister said the quickly convened meeting in Singapore spoke to the depths of the ties with the Asian nation.
"We don't pre-empt one-on-one meetings at leaders levels, but the fact that we have been welcomed at relatively short notice to Singapore speaks about the strength of the relationship," Mr Albanese said.
As well as the talks with the Singapore prime minister, Mr Albanese will visit Jurong Island, where the city-state has its three oil refineries.
However, production at the facilities has been limited due to most of the oil processed there coming via the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said shoring up support in Singapore would be critical.
"It's why ministers ... are engaging with industry and supporting investment to make sure that we get through this difficult period, and that we set ourselves up to recover from the extreme uncertainty that we are going through right now," he told reporters in Melbourne.
"We are a big supplier of LNG to Singapore. Singapore is a really important refiner of our liquid fuels. This is a relationship of very substantial mutual economic benefit, and long may that situation continue."
Singapore is Australia's largest two-way trade partner in southeast Asia.
In March, Mr Albanese and Mr Wong signed a joint statement reaffirming commitments by the two countries to continue trading in energy.
The statement said the countries would "support the flow of essential goods including petroleum oils, such as diesel, and liquefied natural gas".