Australia will phase out leaded gasoline in the next 18 months; it will no longer be available after Jan. 1, 2002.
The plans have the support of Australia's four refiners-Royal Dutch/ Shell, Caltex, BP Amoco PLC, and Mobil Corp., who will continue to produce a replacement gasoline that uses an alternative engine protection substance to cater to all pre-1986 vehicles that cannot use unleaded fuel. Since 1986 in Australia, all new cars have had to be capable of using unleaded fuel. Further, all gasoline and diesel made in Australia must meet a 50 ppm sulfur content standard by 2006 vs. the current 500 ppm. Estimates are that the new standards could cost Australian refiners $1.3 billion (Aus.), with Shell's 72-year old Clyde refinery in Sydney facing the largest bill for upgrading at around $280 million. The average cost to other refineries around the country will be around $185 million.
The anticipated costs have reintroduced the prospect of refinery closures and potential mergers of facilities (OGJ, Jan. 3, 2000, p. 27). Shell has already said the Clyde plant will be closed as of 2006, maybe sooner. Options reportedly include ending Clyde's refining operations but retaining storage and blending facilities and building a 20-km pipeline to link it with Caltex's Sydney Kurnell refinery at Botany Bay. Kurnell faces the highest desulfurizing costs of the other refineries in Australia.
