Andrew Brown
Posts: 5007
Joined: 9/5/2000 From: Hex 82,170 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: JeffK Andy's spies appear to be correct http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/second_world_war/volume.asp?levelID=67920 Chapter 10 The only two refineries operating in Australia at the outbreak of war were the Shell Company of Australia's plant at Clyde, New South Wales , and that of the Commonwealth Oil Refinery at Laverton, Victoria. Between them they possessed the capacity for refining about 20 per cent of the petroleum products consumed in Australia in peace time . Both plants were closed for most of the war : the Shell Refinery from February 1942 (after Borneo, whence it drew its supplies, fell to the Japanese) to March 1946, and the C .O.R. from March 1942 to November 1946. Another reason for the inactivity of these refineries was that there was, in Allied countries, a much greater shortage of crude oil tankers than of refining capacity. For this reason the Commonwealth Oil Board took the view that the substantial storage tanks at the local refineries would be better employed for holding refined rather than crude oil. But if we are talking potential, they were there if you ship in Oil, but its probably more efficient to ship Fuel Tanks JeffK that is very, very interesting. So their closure during the war may have been more to do with lack of crude oil, than a technical difficulty. I will have to have a look at the references you have provided - I haven't come across them before. Andrew
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