Private Developer Puts up Hand to Build Refinery Amid Fuel Supply Chain Crisis

The Queensland government reveals private interest in building and developing a new diesel refinery in the regional city of Gladstone.

The news comes as Australians consider the vulnerability of their fuel supply chain following a spike in petrol and diesel prices due to disruptions in the Middle East.

“Through this crisis, I’m determined to make sure there is an opportunity for sovereign capability in this state,” Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told reporters, adding that Australia should “never again” be at the mercy of foreign conflicts and the end of foreign supply chains.

“There are multiple sites being investigated in the Gladstone region, a proud region with a proud history of being at the frontier of new opportunities.

“This is an amazing opportunity for this state and this country, and I’m determined to make sure that we grab it.”

Gladstone is around 440 kilometres north of the capital Brisbane, and is a hub for nickel and cobalt mining.

The city is also home to the Port of Gladstone, a major deep water harbour and the state’s largest multi-commodity port.

One proposal is from the chair of Resilient Energy Australia David Goodwin who has proposed an $11 billion oil refinery.

Goodwin said the facility would process 210,000 barrels of oil a day to be built in two or three years, in comments to the ABC.

The support from the Liberal National Party state government comes as it continues to push for new drilling permits in the Taroom Trough, a “Singapore”-sized oil region in the west of the state.

Meanwhile, Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett told The Epoch Times his city was excited at the prospect.

“It is fantastic to see the project has secured land in the [Gladstone State Development Area] and we look forward to working with the proponents to do what we do best, large-scale industrial developments that support the local, state and national economy,” he said.

Nationals Leader Matt Canavan has called on the federal government to get behind any planned Gladstone refinery.

“For the national interest, the Labor government needs to back this 100 percent, and not just with words,” he said on X.

“If it is good enough for us to be financing the importation of foreign oil, we should also be backing the production of domestic oil.

“And our banks need to roll out the red carpet, too. They bend over backwards to finance renewables but here is their chance to show that they really care about Australia’s national security.”

Meanwhile, Robbie Katter, of Katter’s Australian Party, said the LNP government had only recently shown support for developing national sovereignty, and also pointed to opportunities with biofuels.

“You can’t just jump from that side of the field and the other side straight away,” he told Sky News Australia.

“And we still have the biofuel solution staring us in the face, Malaysia are doing it. [There’s] about 240 million litres to be upscaled in the ethanol industry.

Australia currently only has two remaining fuel refineries, the Lytton Oil Refinery in Brisbane and the Viva Energy plant in Victoria, which recently caught on fire, forcing it to cut petrol output to 60 percent.

The Epoch Times contacted Resources Minister Madeleine King for comment.