BP Australia will decommission its 146,000 bbl/d Kwinana refinery, near Fremantle in Western Australia by the end of March 2021, citing the competition from large-scale, export-oriented refineries throughout Asia and the Middle East. BP has already stopped importing oil for the refinery, which will be converted into a fuel import terminal that is expected to be operational in 2022.
There are four refiners in Australia: BP (Kwinana refinery, 146 kb/d), Vitol (Geelong refinery; 128 kb/d), Ampol (Lytton refinery; 109 kb/d), and ExxonMobil (Altona refinery; 90 kb/d). In September 2020, Australian oil company Viva Energy (Vitol) announced that it could close its 128,000 bbl/d Geelong refinery in Victoria, due to the fall in petroleum products demand. In October 2020, Ampol (formerly Caltex) stated that it was considering closing its 109,000 bbl/d Lytton refinery due to the depressed market. In November 2020, BP decided to stop its 146 kb/ Kwinana refinery. In February 2021, ExxonMobil decided to close its 90,000 bbl/d Altona refinery in Victoria.