Shell has been non-committal on the future of its Geelong refinery…
- Matt Chambers
- From: The Australian
- June 08, 2012 12:00AM
SHELL has brought forward the closure of its Clyde refinery in Sydney by up to nine months, cutting about 350 jobs as tough operating conditions plaguing the shrinking sector worsen.
Shell said it would close the 90-year-old refinery on September 30, which is earlier than indicated last year when the company said Clyde would close some time before the middle of next year.
Like most Australian manufacturers, refineries are straining under the weight of a high dollar, high-skilled labour costs and expensive raw materials – in the case of refineries, crude oil.