How Australia will run out of oil by 2020: the rout begins…

Remember this inconvenient chart of Australia’s oil production?  Well, it now looks like it’s not just Shell that believes it’s real too….  they are going to close their Clyde refinery in Sydney.  But now, Caltex are joining the fray as well……

Australia’s failing oil production

Caltex axes hundreds of jobs at Kurnell refinery

Posted July 26, 2012 09:00:15

Petroleum company Caltex says it is cutting hundreds of jobs as part of restructuring plans which include the closure of Sydney’s Kurnell refinery.

Caltex says it will close Kurnell by the middle of 2014 after 57 years of operation.

More than 300 jobs will go as staff numbers are reduced from 430 to about 100.

Kurnell’s facilities will then be used as a transport fuel import facility.

A review of the plant’s operations was announced in May this year as part of a major restructuring of the company’s supply chain.

The company says the carbon tax had no impact on the decision to close the refinery.

Shell to stop refining at Clyde

Updated: 20:38, Wednesday July 27, 2011

Shell has confirmed it will stop refining at its Clyde Refinery and will import petroleum products into Sydney because it can’t compete with Asia’s mega refineries.

Shell announced on Wednesday it will convert the Clyde Refinery and Gore Bay Terminal in Sydney into a fuel import facility by mid-2013.

Now of course, the question is why can’t shell compete with Asia’s mega refineries?  Could it be lack of oil?  Or that perhaps as we start scraping the bottom of the barrel the cost of bringing the dregs to the surface is too costly?  it will be interesting to see just what the other oil majors do next..