australian oil refineries to close

[burnz]

http://theconversation.edu.au/securi...shut-down-5553

The looming closure of three Australian refineries will affect the security of liquid fuel supplies in Australia. This is particularly so if the government and the oil industry do not devise a joint strategy with which to respond to potential supply disruptions.
Last week, Caltex Australia has written down the value of its two oil refineries (Kurnell in NSW and Lytton in Queensland) by A$1.5 billion. Caltex announced that the results of an operational review due in six months could lead to refinery closures.
The closure may mark another milestone in the decline of Australia’s refining sector. Shell confirmed in July 2011 that it will shut down refining operations at Clyde and convert the Clyde Refinery and Gore Bay Terminal into a fuel import facility by mid-2013. ExxonMobil’s Port Stanvac refinery near Adelaide was mothballed in 2003. In 2009, the decision was made to close down the refinery.
If an ongoing Caltex review results in closure of the two refineries, the nation will be reduced to just four, half the number in 2003.
Caltex’s position also raises questions over the viability of the nation’s four other refineries. Analysts often tout ExxonMobil’s Altona refinery in Melbourne as a candidate for divestment.
There is consensus among industry analysts that it is extremely unlikely there will be any new major additions to Australia’s refining capacity. In fact, BP’s chief economist Christof Ruhl described the future of the local refining industry as “dire”.

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