Shell Clyde Refinery & Gore Bay Terminal

Employees in front of Clyde Refinery Benzene Reduction facility.

Shell's Clyde Refinery is the longest operating oil refinery in Australia having been built in the early 1920s and operated by Shell since 1928 and is one of the most complex of the seven refineries currently operating in Australia.

The refinery supplies about 40 percent of Sydney's petroleum requirements and about 50 per cent of New South Wales needs.  Clyde Refinery is located where the Parramatta and Duck Rivers join, 16km west of Sydney's CBD.

The crude oil for the refinery is received from Shell's Gore Bay Terminal, which is located on ten hectares of land in Greenwich, via an 19km 300mm diameter underground pipeline.  More than four million tonnes of crude oil, feedstock and products are imported through the terminal for transfer to Shell's Clyde Refinery by pipeline every year.

Download the Clyde & Gore Bay Fact Sheet (PDF, 41 KB) - opens in new window

View from Gore Bay Terminal towards Sydney city.

Shell's Gore Bay Terminal, is located on ten hectares of land in Greenwich, via an 19km 300mm diameter underground pipeline.

More than four million tonnes of crude oil, feedstock and products are imported through the terminal for transfer to Shell's Clyde Refinery by pipeline every year.

The refinery & terminal has around 330 employees and an average of around 200 contractors on site at anytime.

The refinery and terminal operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Download the Clyde & Gore Bay Fact Sheet (PDF, 41 KB) - opens in new window

Ermington Family Learning Centre has been a social investment beneficiary for many years.

The Shell Clyde Refinery and Shell Gore Bay Terminal are both landmarks in their respective communities. Both have been operating for more than a century and have employed generations of residents from all walks of life.

Through our Social Investment (SI) Programme, we invest in projects and activities within the Parramatta, Auburn and Lane Cove communities which can bring lasting improvement and social benefit.

Applications for the 2010-13 SI Programme have now closed. Projects from the successful community groups are now being finalised and will be publicly announced soon.

Shell employee in discussions with Gore Bay Terminal local community members.

One of the first oil receiving facilities for Shell in Australia, Gore Bay Terminal sits on Sydney Harbour in what is now a residential area. Stringent environmental and safety measures are essential to operating safely and responsibly and meeting the expectations of government and community stakeholders.

Gore Bay Terminal in Greenwich, New South Wales (NSW) commenced operating in 1901, the year Australia became a nation. At the time, oil products were transported by road and barge to meet the petroleum needs of the NSW community.  Today, Gore Bay is still vital to the fuel requirements of NSW, being the only source of crude oil and feedstock supply to Shell’s Clyde Refinery via an underground pipeline. As the last remaining commercial oil terminal in Sydney Harbour it also supplies bunker fuel to visiting cruise liners and other ships.

The terminal is located 3 km from the CBD on 1 km of Sydney Harbour’s foreshore, very near to residential properties. Community and environmental issues have been a major focus over the years, leading in 1993 to the formation of a Community Consultative Group, through which the terminal communicates regularly with its neighbours. The strong and open relationship that has developed means the community is informed of and involved with the terminal’s initiatives to improve the visual environment and reduce noise and odour.

Recent Initiatives:

• Shipping – Wharves upgraded to minimise any chance of oil being released into the harbour. This includes booming of ships, revised shipping procedures, fitting of gas detectors and underwater lighting.
• Odours – Numerous changes made to reduce any odour affecting the community. These include strict limitation on the type of products that can be received, the fitting of double seals to tanks wherever possible, and computer tracking of any odour issues.
• Noise – A number of ships have been stopped from operating at Gore Bay due to noise issues associated with their basic design. Soundproof enclosures and low-noise pump motors have also reduced the impact of noise on the community.
• Visual improvements – Unsightly tanks have been removed and others are being progressively re-painted. The Community Consultative Group has chosen the colour for the tanks.
• Environmental research – Assisting university students with research on invasive marine species. Numerous environmental studies to establish the baseline of marine life near the terminal have been conducted and updated since the 1980s.

We welcome your comments and feedback.

Should you have any enquiries, please contact us at:

Clyde Refinery                                                                 Gore Bay Terminal

Communications Department                                               Communications Department

Shell Clyde Refinery                                                            Shell Gore Bay Terminal

Durham Street                                                                    Manns Avenue

Rosehill NSW 2142                                                              Greenwich NSW 2303

Phone: (02) 9897 8888                                                        Phone: (02) 8437 1226