Lytton Oil Refinery is an oil refinery in the Brisbane suburb of Lytton in Queensland, Australia. It is owned and operated by Ampol. It has a capacity of 6.5 billion litres of crude oil per year.[1] The facility employs 550 people.[2]
The Lytton refinery was built at the end of a 191 miles (307 km) pipeline from the Moonie oilfield.[5] It was the first major oil or gas pipeline in Australia. Construction started in June 1963 and it was officially opened in May 1964. It was 10 inches (250 mm) diameter. The pipeline itself cost A£4,500,000.[6] Following a leak from the pipeline in the Brisbane suburb of Algester, the pipeline was closed in July 2007.[7]
Fuel security
In 2021, Lytton was one of only two oil refineries (with the Geelong Oil Refinery) remaining in Australia.[8] The refinery operated at a loss of $145 million in 2020.[9]
Twenty years earlier, Australia had eight operating oil refineries. As they have gradually been closed by the companies that operate them, there has been concern as to whether the Australian government should act to maintain a domestic refining capability.[10] At the beginning of 2021, the government offered one cent per litre of refined transport fuel produced in Australia provided that the refinery owner agrees to keep it operating for the duration of the program.[11] Lytton refinery did not immediately accept this package while Ampol undertook a review.[12] In May 2021 after the government increased the amount of state subsidies, Ampol accepted their offer and committed to ongoing refinery operations until at least 2027.[13]
Transition
The company plans to move to net zero emissions by 2040 for scopes 1 and 2. Ampol has plans to use the facility to produce green hydrogen.[2]
^"PLAN OF £21m. REFINERY". The Canberra Times. Vol. 37, no. 10, 597. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 25 July 1963. p. 16. Retrieved 13 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
