Shell to exit from Australian refinery; around 500 jobs at risk

SYDNEY (Scrap Monster) : The petroleum major Shell has announced its decision to quit from the Australian Geelong refinery.

As per the company, it is in search of a potential buyer for its Victoria refinery facility or else it would convert the refinery into a fuel import terminal, which will perform local marketing and distribution of oil products. The company expects the sale process to be completed before the end of next year.

Shell Geelong Refinery is one of the largest and most complex hydrocarbon refineries in Australia. Shell Geelong Refinery has been operating for 55 years. The refinery supplies about 50% of Victoria's fuel and about 30% of South Australia's fuel. The Geelong Refinery employs around 450 fulltime employees. In addition, the refinery also employs around 100 to 150 contract workers every day.

Over the past two years Shell has closed refining operations at Sydney's Clyde refinery and converted it into an import terminal for petroleum products made overseas. Employee numbers were reduced by about 80 per cent when Shell converted the Clyde refinery into an import terminal. Any move to degrade the refining facility into import terminal would result in massive job loss.

The decision by Shell to close operations is another blow to the Australian refining Industry which has failed to face the challenges of the much larger yet cheaper oil refineries elsewhere in the Asian countries.

The Geelong refinery was one of the biggest ones on Australia and had been a major employer for many years. The company is looking for a potential buyer who can continue the operations at the refinery by retaining all of its employees.