Clyde Refinery
Encyclopedia
The Clyde Refinery is a crude oil refinery located in Clyde
, New South Wales
, Australia
. It has a refinery capacity of 85000 oilbbl/d. It is operated by Shell Refining and owned by the Royal Dutch Shell
one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world.
where the Parramatta River
and the Duck River
join, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Sydney
. The refinery is also the site of the first polypropylene
(PP) plant in Australia, that was commissioned by Shell in 1970–1971 and that has a capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year. There is also another PP plant on site that is owned by LyondellBasell and has an annual production capacity of 170,000 tonnes.
The refinery was shut down in November 2008 for maintenance works and restarted in July 2009 after nine months of repairs.
Shell confirmed on 27 July 2011 that it will shut down refining operations at Clyde and convert the Clyde Refinery and Gore Bay Terminal into a fuel import facility by mid-2013.
This followed the initial announcement of intention pending board and employee consultation in April.
and opened in 1901. The oil transfer is made via an 19 kilometres (11.8 mi) underground pipeline that has a 300 millimetres (11.8 in) diameter. The refinery processes around 4 million tonnes of crude oil annually. The refinery usually supplies 40% of the fuel consumed in Sydney
and around 50% of the fuel consumed in New South Wales
, Australia
's most populous state.
Clyde, New South Wales
Clyde is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Clyde is located 21 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It has a refinery capacity of 85000 oilbbl/d. It is operated by Shell Refining and owned by the Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world.
History
Built in the early 1920s, it has been in operation longer than any other oil refinery in Australia. It has been owned by Shell since 1928 and is located in ClydeClyde, New South Wales
Clyde is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Clyde is located 21 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta...
where the Parramatta River
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....
and the Duck River
Duck River (New South Wales)
The Duck River is a watercourse located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Duck River flows in a generally north then east-north-east direction for about 11.5 km from where it rises from a drain in the suburb of Birrong to where it joins the Parramatta River at Silverwater. It was...
join, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The refinery is also the site of the first polypropylene
Polypropylene
Polypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...
(PP) plant in Australia, that was commissioned by Shell in 1970–1971 and that has a capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year. There is also another PP plant on site that is owned by LyondellBasell and has an annual production capacity of 170,000 tonnes.
The refinery was shut down in November 2008 for maintenance works and restarted in July 2009 after nine months of repairs.
Shell confirmed on 27 July 2011 that it will shut down refining operations at Clyde and convert the Clyde Refinery and Gore Bay Terminal into a fuel import facility by mid-2013.
This followed the initial announcement of intention pending board and employee consultation in April.
Technical features
The refinery, which has around 330 workers, has a capacity of 85 koilbbl/d and is supplied with oil from the nearby Gore Bay Terminal, also operated by Shell since its opening, located on a 10 hectares (24.7 acre) plot of land in GreenwichGreenwich, New South Wales
Greenwich is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Greenwich is located 7 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Lane Cove.The suburb occupies a peninsula on the northern...
and opened in 1901. The oil transfer is made via an 19 kilometres (11.8 mi) underground pipeline that has a 300 millimetres (11.8 in) diameter. The refinery processes around 4 million tonnes of crude oil annually. The refinery usually supplies 40% of the fuel consumed in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and around 50% of the fuel consumed in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's most populous state.