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Converting Altona refinery to the Mobil Melbourne terminal
Fuelling Victoria for the long haul
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Converting Altona refinery to the Mobil Melbourne terminal
The Mobil Melbourne terminal will leverage existing refinery facilities and infrastructure to become one of the largest and most efficient fuel import and storage facilities in Australia.
The conversion of Altona refinery to an import terminal is a complex task and there will be lots of activity at the Altona site over the next few years.
Commissioning of initial terminal infrastructure
Works at the refinery to allow Mobil to import fuel through its deep-water port at Gellibrand wharf and store the fuel in existing tanks before transferring it to Yarraville terminal are now complete.
Initially, the imported fuel was stored in two large tanks at the Altona site. The works that we completed included preparing these tanks, along with the pipeline that connects the Altona site to Gellibrand wharf, for the storage and transfer of refined fuels. Mobil has also installed new pumps to connect these tanks to the Mobil pipelines that send fuel to Yarraville terminal.
Customers will continue to collect fuel from the Mobil Yarraville terminal.
Our customers, and all Victorians, can rely on Mobil to maintain our supply of quality Mobil fuels throughout this transition. The below animation provides an overview of Mobil’s Melbourne supply chain.
Shutdown of refinery operations
Most facilities associated with the fuel refining process at Altona refinery have now been shut down and are no longer operating and have been left in a safe state. Decommissioning work commenced in late 2021 with the start of catalyst removal and is continuing into 2023. The Decommissioning phase is characterised as the opening and inspection of vessels, tanks and piping to find and remove any last traces of product left following the shutdown activities.
Decommissioning refinery infrastructure
Mobil is currently planning what would be required to safely decommission refinery infrastructure that will not be part of the future terminal. As part of our planning, we will take into consideration proposed future uses of the site, including the terminal operations.
Decommissioning the refinery infrastructure will be complex, as the utility services required by the terminal operations are integrated with the former refinery processing areas. These utilities will need to be replaced prior to final decommissioning to ensure we can maintain our reliable supply of fuel to our customers.
Future decommissioning work will take a number of years to plan and complete. At each stage of the planning process, we will obtain all required regulatory approvals before beginning work.
Review of options for future use of the site
Mobil will continue to operate a fuel import and storage terminal at the Altona site, primarily utilising tanks to the north of Kororoit Creek Road (former North Crude Tank Farm, between the railway line and Fink Street) and to the east of Millers Rd (former Blending area, corner of Millers Road and Kororoit Creek Road) as well as some required associated infrastructure on the former refinery processing site associated with the operation of the terminal.
The future of any former refinery infrastructure that is not required for future terminal operations will be subject to a future review. This may provide opportunities for repurposement, industrial and commercial sector use, aligned with planning policies, to support economic growth in the City of Hobsons Bay, as well as maintain the appropriate buffer areas required for the ongoing operation of the Mobil fuels terminal. Any potential changes to land use or ownership will be subject to the appropriate Council planning controls and public consultation where required under the existing planning policies.
For commercial proposals or other ideas please submit an Expression of Interest.
Environmental considerations
Mobil will continue working with the Environment Protection Authority of Victoria (EPA) to ensure our ongoing compliance with EPA requirements. This includes both the appropriate remediation of areas to reflect any potential future changes to land use, as well as maintaining our compliance with EPA requirements for operational areas of the terminal.
As the Altona site is no longer manufacturing fuels, its environmental performance has improved, including:
- elimination of most air emissions
- reduction in noise impacts
- substantial reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions
- elimination of most solid and liquid wastes taken offsite for processing.
Mobil continues to seek ways to further improve the environmental performance of the terminal transition activities, and ongoing terminal operations. For example, we are exploring the use of innovative ways to reduce waste from the decommissioning works by engaging specialist contractor services to reuse or recycle materials.
Mobil community news
Access the latest information regarding Mobil’s operations in Australia, including what’s happening at the Altona site, at the Mobil community news page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scroll through the information below for answers to some commonly asked questions.
Mobil is in the early stages of assessing potential options for future land use as a submission to the Hobsons Bay Industrial Land Management Strategy Study. For commercial proposals or other ideas please contact us.
Access to use Mobil’s infrastructure and pipelines at Gellibrand Pier, pipelines connecting Gellibrand Pier to the Mobil Melbourne Terminal, and fixtures at the Mobil Melbourne Terminal may be available to Third Parties on reasonable commercial terms. Click here for more information on accessing Mobil's facilities.
Mobil will continue to foster our relationships with local community groups and schools throughout this transition.
There should not be any noticeable changes to Mobil’s operations at Gellibrand.
Mobil is in the early stages of assessing potential options for future land use as a submission to the Hobsons Bay Industrial Land Management Strategy Study. Buffer zones surrounding the site are determined by the relevant authorities including the EPA, WorkSafe Victoria and Hobsons Bay City Council.
The Mobil fuels terminal will continue to be classified as a ‘Major Hazard Facility’ by Worksafe Victoria under The Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Regulations (Part 5.2). As such, areas surrounding the Mobil site will continue to require relevant planning controls, including the provision of buffer zones in the local community, to ensure development surrounding the terminal is safe and appropriate. The buffer zones will remain around the refinery process areas and existing tankage until decommissioning works are completed and a review of the buffer areas can be undertaken.
Any future changes to buffer zones will be undertaken in conjunction with Hobsons Bay City Council and Worksafe Victoria, after reassessment and review of changes at the site.
At this stage we do not anticipate any changes for people living next to Mobil pipelines as these will continue to support the terminal operations.
Mobil is in the early stages of assessing potential options for future land use as a submission to the Hobsons Bay Industrial Land Management Strategy Study. Buffer zones surrounding the site are determined by the relevant authorities including the EPA, WorkSafe Victoria and Hobsons Bay City Council.
The Mobil fuels terminal will continue to be classified as a ‘Major Hazard Facility’ by Worksafe Victoria under The Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Regulations (Part 5.2). As such, areas surrounding the Mobil site will continue to require relevant planning controls, including the provision of buffer zones in the local community, to ensure development surrounding the terminal is safe and appropriate. The buffer zones will remain around the refinery process areas and existing tankage until decommissioning works are completed and a review of the buffer areas can be undertaken.
Any future changes to buffer zones will be undertaken in conjunction with Hobsons Bay City Council and Worksafe Victoria, after reassessment and review of changes at the site.
Mobil is liaising with local businesses and customers to explain our changing operations and keep them informed of our progress as we transition to an import terminal.
The future terminal site will continue to rely on services and supplies from local businesses, though this may be in a different way. We hope that any other future site use will provide opportunities to support economic growth in the City of Hobsons Bay.
Mobil is committed to continuing to engage with our neighbours.
We plan to continue holding community meetings usually attended by members of the local community and other stakeholders including the EPA and Hobsons Bay City Council.
We will also continue to deliver our community newsletters to neighbours, which include news and updates from the terminal.
As always, we will endeavour to keep our neighbours informed of any major works or activities that they may notice through letters and text messages, in addition to the regular meetings and newsletters.
A significant proportion of the current refinery workforce will continue to work on terminal conversion projects as well as decommissioning activities for a number of years.
Mobil is working to deploy some employees to other roles within ExxonMobil Australia.
We are supporting employees who will leave the refinery in a number of ways including offering out-placement support and careers coaching along with a Careers Fair, providing employees with the opportunity to speak with prospective employers from similar industries.
Mobil’s history in Australia
Mobil has operated in Australia for more than 125 years.
Learn more about our history and contributions to Australia during that time.
Community enquiries
If you would like more information about the Altona refinery and for all general enquiries relating to the refinery, please email us at CommunityANZ@exxonmobil.com.
For urgent matters regarding the refinery's operations, Altona Refinery has a 24-hour community hotline for local residents and community members. The free-call number is 1800 659 527.
For other enquiries please refer to the Contact Us page of this website.
Mobil is in the early stages of assessing potential options for future land use as a submission to the Hobsons Bay Industrial Land Management Strategy Study.
For commercial proposals or other ideas please submit an Expression of Interest using the form.
SMS notification for local residents
Mobil can send an SMS notification to registered local community members in the event of an issue at the Altona site which may cause concern. If you are a local resident and would like to register to receive messages from Mobil, you can download the form and return it to: Mobil Community Relations, Locked Bag 40, Altona North VIC 3015 or email it to CommunityANZ@exxonmobil.com.
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