Exxon to shut Altona (Vic) refinery

'The Australian' late night online on Tuesday 9 February has this, an extract of which is below. It'll be in the paper on Wednesday 10:

(the refineries are in different states that share woke Labor governments. Daniel Andrews' lockdowns (and curfew) destroyed this postwar Melbourne refinery that is well known to travellers on Metro Trains' Altona Loop and Werribee lines, and previously to V/Line users when its Geelong/Warrnambool trains travelled via Newport not Tarneit.

This may well be a portent for what Ampol decides to do with its Lytton refinery in Brisbane.

As usual, Daniel Andrews, leader of the state with by far the highest death toll (820 v less than 100 in all other states combined) from coronavirus due to his blanket refusal to initially agree to ADF personnel manning hotel quarantine, will try to blame Scott Morrison but that won't wash).

'Energy giant ExxonMobil is set to announce the closure of its Altona refinery in Victoria on Wednesday, the latest hammer blow to the nation’s dwindling refining industry.

The Andrews government is expecting an official notification from Exxon about shutting the facility which has been operating since 1949 and employs 350 people, sources told The Australian.

Exxon warned in September the future of the plant was perilous given it was trading at a loss after being hit from falling demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic , Victoria’s prolonged shutdown last year and tough conditions hitting much of the global industry...

...

Exxon chief executive Darren Woods said the global refining industry was still struggling.

“If you look at the industry as a whole across the globe, where margins are at, it’s not a sustainable position just because of the losses that are accruing,” Mr Woods told investors after its fourth quarter earnings call.

“These are commodity businesses and if you take a price that goes below the marginal cost of supply, it’s going to end up costing the industry as a whole and eventually players will rationalise and drop out.”