where are australia's oil refineries
Australia currently has only two major operational crude oil refineries, both located on the east coast: Geelong in Victoria and Lytton in Queensland.
Where are Australia’s oil refineries?
Here are the key sites people mean when they ask “where are Australia’s oil refineries?”
| Refinery | Location | State | Status (mid‑2020s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geelong Refinery | Near Geelong, southwest of Melbourne | Victoria | Operating, owned by Viva Energy |
| Lytton Refinery | Lytton, in Brisbane’s east | Queensland | Operating, owned by Ampol |
| Eromanga Refinery | Eromanga, ~1,000 km west of Brisbane | Queensland | Small specialist refinery for diesel and industrial fuels |
What happened to the other refineries?
From the mid‑20th century until the 2000s, Australia had a network of seven big refineries in multiple states.
- Kwinana – south of Perth, Western Australia – closed and converted to an import terminal (announced 2020, refining ceased 2021).
- Altona – in Melbourne’s southwest, Victoria – closed in 2021.
- Clyde – in Sydney, New South Wales – closed 2013.
- Kurnell – in Sydney, New South Wales – closed 2014.
- Bulwer Island – near Brisbane, Queensland – closed 2015.
So when people ask “where are Australia’s oil refineries now?”, the short list is Geelong (Victoria), Lytton (Brisbane, Queensland), plus the small Eromanga plant in outback Queensland.
Why is this a trending topic?
In the last few years, refinery closures have pushed Australia to rely heavily on imported refined fuel. This has triggered:
- Political debate about fuel security and strategic reserves.
- News stories whenever there’s a global supply shock or shipping disruption, because only two big refineries remain to buffer the system.
- Ongoing commentary on how the transition to cleaner energy and electric vehicles will reshape the need for refineries.
Recent reports in 2025–2026 highlight that the two remaining major refineries (Geelong and Lytton) are still critical for local supply, but most petrol and diesel now comes from large refineries in Asia.
Forum-style take: what people are saying
“So basically all our fuel is imported now except for two refineries on the east coast. One shipping issue and we’re in trouble.”
“Geelong and Lytton are hanging on thanks to government support, but long term it’s hard to see big growth with EVs taking over.”
“Funny that a country that exports so much energy has to import most of its petrol.”
TL;DR
- Australia’s major operating oil refineries are at Geelong (Viva Energy, Victoria) and Lytton (Ampol, Brisbane, Queensland).
- A small specialist refinery operates at Eromanga in outback Queensland.
- Former refineries in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth have mostly closed and become fuel import terminals, pushing Australia toward heavy reliance on imported refined fuel.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.