Ampol to cut Australian refined oil output in Aug-Oct
Sydney (31 July)
Ampol will cut refined oil production at its Lytton refinery – one of Australia’s two operational oil refineries – by 300 million litres in August-October to complete major maintenance work.
The company produced 1.5 billion litres of refined oil at Lytton in April-June, up by 7.4% on the year, using consistent crude oil imports, it told investors in a business update on 30 July.
Ampol expects to import additional refined fuel to offset Lytton production losses in August-October, the company said. Its fuel import capacity is high enough to maintain product availability in August-October, the company added.
“During [the April-June quarter, Lytton] performed very reliably, operating at maximum production and benefiting from rising [global fuel] prices,” Ampol Managing Director and CEO Matt Halliday said.
Ampol’s refining margin – the gap between the import price of Lytton-equivalent fuels and the import price of crude oil – rose to $30.93/barrel (A$44.03/barrel) in April-June, up from $8.71/barrel a year earlier, data from its business update show. Many Asian oil refiners have reduced their fuel output in recent months because of Iran war-related crude oil shortages, supporting elevated margins, the company said.
Singaporean producers slashed their refined petroleum output by 10% on the year in June, for the fourth consecutive month, data from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) show. Singapore’s petroleum output fell on the year in April and May by 30% and 12%, respectively, EDB data show.
Ampol’s planned Lytton production cut comes alongside ongoing production challenges at Australia’s other operating oil refinery, Viva Energy’s Geelong plant. Viva Energy expects to operate its Geelong refinery at 90% of its normal processing capacity until the end of 2027 because of an April fire.
The company ran Geelong at 80% of its jet fuel capacity and 60% of its petrol capacity from 15 April until the end of June because of fire damage to a Residue Catalytic Cracking Unit (RCCU), which converts crude oil into refined fuels.
Ampol and Viva Energy sell both imported and domestically refined fuel in Australia. The Australian Government partnered with Viva Energy to import 100 million litres of fuel from Brunei and South Korea on 16 April. It has also helped Ampol purchase 250 million litres of fuel in recent months.
By Avinash Govind