The Morrison Government is taking strong action to further boost Australia\u2019s long-term fuel security by locking in the future of our refining sector.
\nThe Government\u2019s fuel security package will help secure Australia\u2019s recovery from the COVID crisis and it will help secure our sovereign fuel stocks, locking in jobs and protecting families and businesses from higher fuel prices.
\nPrime Minister Scott Morrison said the Government was delivering on its commitment to maintain a self-sufficient refining capability in Australia by supporting the operation of the Ampol refinery in Lytton (Queensland) and the Viva Energy refinery in Geelong (Victoria). The package will protect the jobs of 1,250 direct employees across the two refineries and create another 1,750 construction jobs.
\nThe Prime Minister Scott Morrison said locking in Australia\u2019s fuel security would deliver benefits for all Australians.
\n\u201cThis is a key plank of our plan to secure Australia\u2019s recovery from the pandemic, and to prepare against any future crises,\u201d the Prime Minister said.
\n\u201cShoring up our fuel security means protecting 1,250 jobs, giving certainty to key industries, and bolstering our national security.
\n\u201cEarlier investment in Australia\u2019s ability to produce better quality fuels, including ultra-low sulfur levels, will also improve air quality and deliver an estimated $1 billion in lower health costs.
\n\u201cMajor industries like agriculture, transport and mining, as well as mum and dad motorists, will have more certainty and can look forward to vehicle maintenance savings and greater choice of new vehicle models.
\n\u201cThis next stage in our plan for Australia\u2019s recovery will create jobs and make our country more self-sufficient and secure.\u201d
\nMinister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said Australia’s economy is reliant on fuel and this significant package will not only lock-in our refineries, but the jobs of thousands of Australians.
\n\u201cFuel is what keeps us and the economy moving. That is why we are backing our refineries,\u201d Minister Taylor said.
\n\u201cSupporting our refineries will ensure we have the sovereign capability needed to prepare for any event, protect families and businesses from higher prices at the bowser, and keep Australia moving as we secure our recovery from COVID-19.\u201d
\nThe 2021-22 Budget initiatives include:<\/p>\n
The variable FSSP has been costed up to AUD$2.047 billion to 2030 in a worst-case scenario.
\nThis figure assumes that both refineries are paid at the highest rate over the entire nine years in COVID-19-like economic conditions, which is unlikely as the economy recovers.
\nActual payments are expected to be less than this, as payments are linked to refining margins at the time and to actual production of key transport fuels.
\nPayments will be made between the following ranges, limiting the downside risk for refineries:<\/p>\n
This will mean that the refineries are only supported in downtimes, and will not receive Government support when they are performing well.
\nRefineries will have an option to extend the support and their commitment out to mid-2030.
\nThe Government is also ensuring better quality fuel is provided across Australia earlier.
\nWe will work with the refineries to bring forward improvements to fuel quality from 2027 to 2024 by co-investing with domestic refiners to undertake the necessary infrastructure upgrades for low sulfur fuel production.
\nAccelerating the necessary major infrastructure upgrades will create up to an additional 1,750 construction jobs, bringing flow-on benefits to the Lytton and Geelong communities.
\nThe Government will also accelerate the industry-wide review of the petrol and diesel standard to 2021, including a consideration of aromatics levels. This aims to create a Euro-6 equivalent petrol and diesel standard that are appropriate for Australia.
\nThe Government will work with both refineries on their plans to consider future fuel technologies and other development opportunities. This will include the refineries\u2019 roles in the roll-out of future fuels, such as electric vehicle charging and hydrogen transport infrastructure.
\nThe Government will introduce the Fuel Security Bill to the Parliament in the coming weeks. This Bill will implement the FSSP to ensure it can begin on 1 July 2021, and set the key parameters for the Minimum Stockholding Obligation that will commence in 2022.
\nThis package implements the Morrison Government\u2019s commitment to the refining sector, announced as part of the 2020-21 Budget, and complements other measures including increased onshore diesel storage and taking advantage of record low prices to store oil in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Morrison Government is taking strong action to further boost Australia\u2019s long-term fuel security by locking in the future of our refining sector. The Government\u2019s fuel security package will help secure Australia\u2019s recovery from the COVID crisis and it will help secure our sovereign fuel stocks, locking in jobs and protecting families and businesses from … Continue reading “Locking in Australia\u2019s fuel security”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11450\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}