Shell Closes Geelong Oil Refinery in Australia

The closure of the Geelong Oil Refinery in Australia by Shell marked a critical point in the company's operations within the region. This decision was influenced by a series of financial losses that Shell experienced in its Australian refining and fuel marketing sector. The refinery's shutdown followed a pattern of declining profitability, as evidenced by consecutive annual losses leading up to the closure. In the wake of the refinery's closure, Shell reported a writedown of A$203 million, which was part of a larger trend of financial adjustments that included a A$638 million writedown in the previous year and a A$407 million writedown the year before that. These financial challenges were compounded by the earlier closure of the Clyde Refinery in Sydney, which further strained Shell's refining capabilities in Australia. The cumulative impact of these closures and financial losses highlighted the difficulties faced by traditional oil refining operations in a changing energy landscape, where market conditions and operational costs increasingly challenged profitability.