Viva Energy inaugurates largest lubricants terminal in Australia

Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd celebrated the opening of its new AUD18 million (USD13.41 million) state-of-the-art Pinkenba bulk lubricants terminal, which has a storage capacity of 3.2 million litres and can manage up to 30 lubricant grades.

Speaking at the opening of the facility in Brisbane’s northeast, Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt said the terminal took 36,000 man hours to complete, created more than 120 local construction jobs and is designed to be scalable and flexible according to customer needs.

“This is an exciting development for Viva Energy as we have the ability to adapt to increases in both the volume and type of lubricant products required by customers,” said Scott.

“The terminal stores the bulk lubricants in horizontal tanks and each loading gantry is automated – featuring dedicated pumps, piping and loading arms to protect product quality,” he said.

“In a world first, the horizontal tanks are gravity loaded, rather than pumped in from the bottom of the tank, which increases operational efficiencies. The tanks also have the fastest loading rate in the Australian market.

“Our bulk lubricants terminal is complemented by a third party warehouse base, which is capable of processing more than 14,000 pallets of packaged lubricants annually.”

Viva Energy’s investment in the Pinkenba bulk lubricants terminal is part of its AUD1 billion (USD745.16 million) investment across its supply, refining and retail businesses throughout Australia.

“With the addition of the bulk lubricants capability, the Pinkenba Terminal is strategically placed to service the fuel, bitumen and lubricant needs of commercial and retail customers throughout Queensland and northern New South Wales,” said Scott.

Viva Energy is the exclusive licensee of the Shell brand in Australia and was launched following the purchase of Shell’s downstream business in Australia, excluding aviation. In addition to its 920-plus service station network and its Geelong Refinery, Viva Energy operates bulk fuels, bitumen, marine, chemicals and lubricants businesses supported by more than 20 storage terminals across the country.