ExxonMobil has decided to close its 90,000 bbl/d Altona refinery in Victoria (south-eastern Australia), which is no longer considered economically viable, and convert it into an import terminal. The refinery started operations in 1949 and recently suffered from declining domestic crude oil production, competitive supply of products into Australia, and future capital investments.
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 the next six months and convert into an import terminal.
In September 2020, the government unveiled a plan to invest AUD211m (US$163m) to increase domestic fuel storage capacities by building an additional 780 megalitres of onshore diesel storage. It will also introduce a minimum stockholding obligation of 24 days for petrol and jet fuel stocks (28 days for diesel) and will subsidise local refineries to keep them open, in order to secure its long-term fuel supply as the coronavirus-driven demand fall threatens to close refining capacities. In addition, the authorities will introduce a production payment system to protect consumers against fuel price increases.
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