WA's Mid West faces hurdles to becoming Australia's newest oil refinery
Australia's first new oil refinery in decades is touted for WA. A site under consideration in the state's Mid West faces a big hurdle in connecting to power.
The Mid West region of Western Australia is being considered as a potential site for Australia's first new oil refinery in decades. The Australian government has allocated $4 million for a pre-feasibility study to explore opportunities for the refinery, with the Mid West and South West identified as the main locations of interest.
The Oakajee Strategic Industrial Area, situated 440 kilometers north of Perth, has been earmarked for the refinery. However, power constraints pose a significant hurdle to attracting new businesses to the region, as noted by Joanne Fabling, the CEO of the Mid West Development Commission. The lack of power supply has deterred potential business investment, and a 330KV transmission line is required to connect the whole region.
Legislation prevents private entities from controlling public property, such as power infrastructure, which adds to the red tape around further development. Despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and WA Premier Roger Cook announcing the study, there is skepticism about the progress of the project, as experts point out that the commercial oil reserves in the area only equate to about seven months of daily consumption.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
