Lytton Oil Refinery
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Oil refining |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Headquarters | Brisbane , Australia |
| Products | Refined petroleum products |
| Owner | Ampol |
Number of employees | 550 |
Lytton Oil Refinery is an oil refinery situated in the Brisbane suburb of Lytton, Australia. It is owned and managed by Ampol and has an annual crude oil processing capacity of 6.5 billion litres, employing around 550 staff members.
History
Operations at the refinery began in 1965 when Ampol established the facility on the grounds of the former Fort Lytton. The site lies adjacent to the Brisbane River, directly across from the Bulwer Island Refinery, which was constructed by Amoco.
Moonie pipeline
The refinery connects to the Moonie oilfield through a pipeline, recognized as Australia's inaugural major oil or gas pipeline. Construction started in June 1963, with the official inauguration taking place in May 1964. The pipeline, with a diameter of , was built at a cost of A£4.5 million. Following a leak detected in the Brisbane suburb of Algester, operations on the pipeline ceased in July 2007.
Fuel security
As of 2021, Lytton remained one of only two operational oil refineries in Australia, alongside the Geelong Oil Refinery. In 2020, it recorded a loss of $145 million. Two decades prior, Australia had eight active refineries; however, closures since then have sparked concerns regarding the sustainability of local refining capabilities. Early in 2021, the government introduced a subsidy offering one cent per litre of refined transport fuel to refinery operators who commit to ongoing production. Initially, Lytton declined this offer while Ampol evaluated the proposal. After an increased subsidy was introduced in May 2021, Ampol agreed to continue operations at Lytton until at least 2027.
Transition
Ampol has set a target to reach net zero emissions for scopes 1 and 2 by 2040 and intends to utilize the Lytton facility for producing green hydrogen.