B P Kwinana Refinery to close.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

Today, B P Has announced intentions to close the Kwinana refinery, and convert to fuel import terminal..
(Loss of some 650 jobs they say).

This means that we (Aus) will now be fully dependent on overseas refineries, apart from the remaining ones based in QLD and Vic.
Products of the Kwinana site include 'Aviation Fuels'.....Jet A1 and AVGAS.....

'COVID' has demonstrated our vulnerability in this area, if shipping is affected / ceases for any reason....China doesn't like us any more...??

With the urgency of our 'fuel reserves' in AUS, being 'low', is now the time for the FEDS to 'nationalise' the remaining refining facilities / do a deal - so that we may head towards being self sufficient?
(In one way or another....at least...'mostly'...)

What IS the alternative..??

No Cheers 'ere I reckon......

[neville_nobody]

The simplistic answer is that we don't pay enough for fuel in Australia. BP are claiming it's uneconomical to continue refining fuel here.

[vne165]

This needs attention at the highest levels, we must retain the ability to refine. Reliance on shipping lanes remaining open is foolhardy at best.
Can't run an army or a navy on solar power.

[Square Bear]

vne165

I am pretty sure that the “Watermelon Party” would be happy with that situation....and tomorrow when the QLD Labor Party may very well need the assistance of the greens to form Government we might get to seel see it first hand.

On a side note, I did read that the Coalition offered a set guarantee price for the fuel to be refined in AUS, but was not accepted.

Solar power on our aircraft for travel, and back to wind power for our Navy perhaps?

[machtuk]

Australia is producing less & less of what it needs to function, we are an island, U-Boats come to mind here!

[vne165]

Will we be importing bitumen to repair our broken roads I wonder?
Or can it be recycled?

[cogwheel]

I thought all our Avgas had come from Singapore for a number of years now?? The quantity is so low now that producing Avgas in Oz would not likely be justified. Not that I agree, just seems all our major industries are off shore now.

[Lead Balloon]

Will we be importing bitumen to repair our broken roads I wonder?
Or can it be recycled?Australia already imports its bitumen. In ships with heated cargo holds. From Singapore.

I sh*t you not.

[Pinky the pilot]

I thought all our Avgas had come from Singapore for a number of years now?? The quantity is so low now that producing Avgas in Oz would not likely be justified.

Back when I was doing my Flying training (early 80's) I was informed that at that time Australia was a 'net exporter' of Avgas. We then had a refinery or refineries that produced more than the Country needed so the excess was exported.

Anyone else remember that back in 1998/9 Avgas was cheaper by about 4 to five cents/litre than 92 Octane Unleaded?
I do, because I then had a Toyota Celica with a worked Twin Cam engine, and Avgas was the only stuff I could run in it without the engine pinging!

G'day Griffo.

[Capt SFB]

G'Day all,

BP hasn't produced Avgas at Kwinana for a number of years now, Viva in Geelong still does.

Bitumen has been imported for a very long time, mostly from Taiwan and Thailand at present, although we are seeing the odd cargo from the U.S. lately (must be cheap).

Cheers,
Capt. SFB

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

Thanks for that Capt.

I did check the BP Refinery site before I wrote my post, and it still lists 'Aviation Fuels - Jet and AVGAS'.....

Cheers

From the site today....I guess then, that it needs 'updating'.
Products manufactured at our refinery include:

petrol: unleaded, premium unleaded, BP Ultimate and BP Opal
diesel fuels
aviation fuels, including jet fuel and aviation gasoline
fuel oil
hydrogen
kerosene
autogas, including propane and butane

[triadic]

Pinky....
Anyone else remember that back in 1998/9 Avgas was cheaper by about 4 to five cents/liter than 92 Octane Unleaded?

Back in the 60's before we changed to $ & cents, I recall that at Moorabbin, Ron Tyson was the refueller and Avgas at the time was about 2p cheaper than Motor spirit and Avgas sold for about 2/6 a gallon!! yeah, those were the days!

[Octane]

I thought all our Avgas had come from Singapore for a number of years now?? The quantity is so low now that producing Avgas in Oz would not likely be justified. Not that I agree, just seems all our major industries are off shore now.

Avgas is made at Kwinana, I have worked in the lab.

[vne165]

Octane,
That was my understanding, but not for very much longer long it seems.

Why this isn't major news and spread across every paper in the land is mind boggling to me.
Let's hope it's an ambit/opportunistic claim for government support/tax breaks from the Bravo Papa company to keep the place open.
If it is then it surely must be on the table for discussion from a national security perspective.

[Octane]

I'm astonished also. BP spent 100's of millions on upgrades in recent years. In many ways it's a modern refinery and the biggest in Australia by production. What a waste, not to mention the strategic consequences for Australia..

[Lead Balloon]

There have been numerous decision by BP in relation to Avgas facilities that defy logic. I hoped in a way that the decisions were the product of a business genius whose genius would eventually become obvious. Alas, not yet...

BTW, from where did they obtain their TEL supplies for the Kwinana refinery?

[vne165]

From here maybe?
https://innospec.com/fuel-additives/transportation/octane/

[Lead Balloon]

That’s from “whom”. I asked from “where”.

From where, geographically, does the TEL used at Kwinana Avgas refinery come? And just to anticipate the potential pedantic answers, I don’t want to know that it ‘comes in the mail’ or ‘off a ship’.

[Capt SFB]

G'Day Chaps,

I stand by my comments that the only Avgas manufactured in Australia is from Viva's Geelong refinery. I know this, as we tried to purchase BP's F4 supercharged test engine when they ceased manufacturing Avgas, but they sent it to another refinery in the BP group overseas. If BP still markets Avgas of their own, it is imported. In my day, I remember Shell making Agas100LL (blue), 100/130 (green) and 115/145 (purple). The 115 made really good racing fuel . . . .

As far as TEL goes, back in the days of leaded petrol, it used to come in tankers with parcels up to 1000s of tonnes. Nowadays, Geelong receives it in 20' iso-tainers. Manufactured in Europe still? It used to come from England.

Cheers,
Capt SFB