Citing global refinery margins “remaining under pressure” in this year’s second half from depressed demand and “expected growth in global surplus refinery capacity,” Caltex Australia announced Dec. 9 it will close its 3,300 b/d lube plant at Kurnell in Sydney.
Notice: An earlier version of this story mistakenly identified Caltex’s 109,000 b/d refinery at Kurnell as being the facility to be closed. The company has no plans to close this facility, only to shutter the nearby lube plant as clarified below.
By OGJ editors HOUSTON, Dec. 11 -- Citing global refinery margins “remaining under pressure” in this year’s second half from depressed demand and “expected growth in global surplus refinery capacity,” Caltex Australia announced Dec. 9 it will close its 3,300 b/d lube plant at Kurnell in Sydney.
The closing is part of a “major cost efficiency drive” in which the company will recognize “significant items totaling approximately $170 million (before tax).” The company expects a savings of $93 million (Aus) “for asset impairment and redundancies relating to the planned closure.”
The plant, said the company, is not “viable” because it manufactures “outmoded lubricant products and faces declining feedstock sources.” The announcement did not set a date for the closure, citing “further detailed work to be done.”
