Delays on shutdown of Clyde refinery

Shell Australia announced on October 9, 2008 that its Clyde refinery, which had been operational since 1928, would be temporarily shut down at the end of November for upgrades and repairs. During the shutdown, the diesel hydrodesulfurization unit will be upgraded in order for it to meet the new Australian sulfur specification of 10 parts per million (ppm), which came into effect on January 1, 2009. Restoring the refinery’s operation to full operational mode is taking longer than the anticipated three months, Shell Australia Spokesman Paul Zennaro said, but fuel requirements have been met through alternate means. “The Clyde refinery has been in full import mode since the shutdown. We have been supplying the market via our Geelong refinery, our network, and importing products such as diesel and gasoline,” he noted. (January 22, 2009)