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Title: Refinery Shutdown Casts Doubt on Future

By Political Reporters HUW MORGAN and DAVID ECCLES

03may00 - THE troubled Mobil refinery at Port Stanvac will close indefinitely from Saturday, casting a shadow over its future.

The company yesterday promised that supplies of petrol would not be interrupted, despite the closure.

Doubts over the future of Adelaide's only fuel refinery have surfaced again after Mobil moved to head off expected industrial action over protracted enterprise bargaining with the site's biggest union.

Mobil said yesterday that it was closing the refinery to "assure continuity of supply through the industrial relations negotiations".

The move is seen as an attempt to cut the risk of a fuel shortage if workers walked off the job.

Minerals and Energy Minister Wayne Matthew said he had been reassured by Mobil the closure should have no effect on petrol prices in SA.

"They have advised me that if there is an effect on price it would be due to other market-related factors, but not due to the closure of the refinery operation," Mr Matthew said.

The National Union of Workers, representing 130 of the site's estimated 350 employees, said it believed Mobil planned to lock its members out after the closure, in an effort to force an agreement.

"The company has signalled they want our members to shut down the refinery," union state secretary Ron Docherty said yesterday.

"To do it safely would take four to seven days and we suspect at the end of that period they'll lock us out."

But Mr Docherty said the union  not Mobil  would set the refinery's industrial agenda.

A spokeswoman for Mobil said that while the period of shutdown was not known, the refinery would open again.

"There is a possibility of industrial action and we have decided to shut down the refinery to assure supply," she said. "The decision has been made to make alternate arrangements for supply. Most of the requirements will be sourced from Victoria."

The company has also been stockpiling fuel in SA over the past few weeks.

The refinery has been working at 60 per cent capacity  about 60,000 barrels a day  since Shell and BP decided to obtain their South Australian fuel requirements from interstate earlier this year.

The spokeswoman said the workers at the refinery would not be laid off during the shutdown, but would carry out maintenance and training.

A statement from the company late yesterday said negotiations with the unions were progressing well.

"Negotiations between the company and the NUW are proceeding positively with the assistance of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission," refinery manager Glenn Henson said.

"The agreement is critical to the future of Mobil's South Australian refinery. Both parties have shown willingness to discuss the issues." By Political Reporters HUW MORGAN and DAVID ECCLES

THE troubled Mobil refinery at Port Stanvac will close indefinitely from Saturday, casting a shadow over its future.

The company yesterday promised that supplies of petrol would not be interrupted, despite the closure.

Doubts over the future of Adelaide's only fuel refinery have surfaced again after Mobil moved to head off expected industrial action over protracted enterprise bargaining with the site's biggest union.

Mobil said yesterday that it was closing the refinery to "assure continuity of supply through the industrial relations negotiations".

The move is seen as an attempt to cut the risk of a fuel shortage if workers walked off the job.

Minerals and Energy Minister Wayne Matthew said he had been reassured by Mobil the closure should have no effect on petrol prices in SA.

"They have advised me that if there is an effect on price it would be due to other market-related factors, but not due to the closure of the refinery operation," Mr Matthew said.

The National Union of Workers, representing 130 of the site's estimated 350 employees, said it believed Mobil planned to lock its members out after the closure, in an effort to force an agreement.

"The company has signalled they want our members to shut down the refinery," union state secretary Ron Docherty said yesterday.

"To do it safely would take four to seven days and we suspect at the end of that period they'll lock us out."

But Mr Docherty said the union  not Mobil  would set the refinery's industrial agenda.

A spokeswoman for Mobil said that while the period of shutdown was not known, the refinery would open again.

"There is a possibility of industrial action and we have decided to shut down the refinery to assure supply," she said. "The decision has been made to make alternate arrangements for supply. Most of the requirements will be sourced from Victoria."

The company has also been stockpiling fuel in SA over the past few weeks.

The refinery has been working at 60 per cent capacity  about 60,000 barrels a day  since Shell and BP decided to obtain their South Australian fuel requirements from interstate earlier this year.

The spokeswoman said the workers at the refinery would not be laid off during the shutdown, but would carry out maintenance and training.

A statement from the company late yesterday said negotiations with the unions were progressing well.

"Negotiations between the company and the NUW are proceeding positively with the assistance of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission," refinery manager Glenn Henson said.

"The agreement is critical to the future of Mobil's South Australian refinery. Both parties have shown willingness to discuss the issues."

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), May 03, 2000