Caltex decision to shut unit will cost 100 jobs

A decision by Caltex Australia to shut part of the Kurnell oil refinery will cost up to 100 jobs, and there are claims it puts Australia’s defense security at risk. The largest user of the industrial section of the refinery, which Caltex has said it will close, is the Australian Defense Force. The national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Paul Howes, has called for the Federal Government to intervene to stop the loss of the only base oil refinery in Australia. Caltex’s lubricating oil refinery at Kurnell can produce 100,000 barrels a month and exports oil to New Zealand, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Thailand. Caltex told the Australian Stock Exchange before Christmas that it planned to close the refinery, at an unspecified date, as part of an efficiency drive. It said the closure would cost A$93 million (US$86.46 million) in redundancy and other payments. (January 4, 2010)