BP Closes Kwinana Refinery in Australia, an Industrial Info Market Brief

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Australia's federal government has expressed its disappointment in BP Australia Pty Limited's decision to permanently close its 138,000-barrel-per-day Kwinana Refinery in Western Australia. The government had offered a "fuel security package" to enhance the industry's long-term viability, including as much as $200 million in investments.

Each of Australia's four refineries--Altona, Geelong, Kwinana and Lytton--have been facing significant, mounting losses due to lower fuel-demand growth and increases in regional refining capacity. This problem was compounded exponentially when COVID-19 struck earlier this year.

While the initial reaction of BP Australia was to welcome the government's proposal, the company nevertheless decided to convert the facilities into an import terminal, while ensuring continuity of its fuel supply to Western Australia.

Click here for a list of active projects at Australia's refineries, and see graph below for a breakdown by owner.