During the shutdown, no processing of petroleum products will occur at the refinery, with all supplies to the market sourced from imports.
This decision follows extensive and ongoing maintenance work to address unplanned outages at the refinery that have disrupted operations throughout the last 12 months. It also coincides with further planned work on the Hydrodesulphurisation Unit (HDS), which is being modified to enable production of diesel with 10ppm sulphur to comply with Federal Government fuel quality specification changes.
Shell does not expect this decision to have any impact on the supply of fuel products to customers.
Temporarily halting refining processes will give management and employees the chance to focus on sustainable improvement in the refinery’s operating performance and reliability. It will also reduce the risk of refining operations impacting on reliability of supply over the upcoming key holiday driving season.
Clyde refinery employees were informed of the decision this morning. No jobs will be lost as a result of the refinery temporarily operating in full import mode.
It is intended that the refinery will be brought back to full production at the conclusion of the improvement process.
- Ends -
For further information, please contact:
Claire Wilkinson - claire.wilkinson@shell.com 03 8823 4070 or 0417 007 344
