- Published:
- Thursday 12 May 2016
One of Australia’s leading oil and gas producers, ExxonMobil Australia, today announced an investment worth tens of millions of dollars in its Altona refinery.
Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio was onsite for the announcement endorsing it as a vote of confidence for business investment in Victoria and the state’s AAA economy rating.
The Altona refinery has long been one of Victoria’s key refinery plants, employing around 350 of the company’s 1,750 Victorian employees and processing up to 13 million litres of crude oil daily into petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, LPG and bitumen.
The new investment will enable the refinery to increase overall production from 80,000 to 90,000 barrels per day. The increase in production includes diesel and jet fuel, as well as upgrading the refinery’s crude oil plant.
Energy efficiency is a strong feature of the plant upgrade also, with technical upgrades that will enable the recovery of an additional three megawatts of waste heat.
The plant upgrade will also create an additional 50 new jobs during construction of the project.
This investment comes on top of the $370 million ExxonMobil has already invested in maintenance and improvements to the refinery and will increase its contribution to the Victorian economy even further, which is currently estimated at $270 million annually.
This is the second major investment ExxonMobil has announced this year in its Victorian operations. In February at Rosedale, Ms D’Ambrosio turned the first sod on ExxonMobil’s $400 million Longford pipeline replacement project.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio
“This investment in the Altona plant is another vote of confidence for Victoria’s reputation as a hub for business investment and our strong AAA-rated economy.”
“Improvements in infrastructure and energy efficiency will further drive the plant’s economic benefits and contributions to the state, which is great news for Victorian jobs and workers.”
Quotes attributable to Mobil’s Manager of Refining Australia Andrew Warrell
“During the past five years, we have invested more than $370 million in maintenance and other improvements at Altona refinery.”
“Our enduring success for nearly 70 years is due to a number of factors, including a highly-skilled workforce and our position relative to local markets.”