Investment in bitumen facilities

Earlier this year Shell Australia unveiled two major investments in bitumen facilities to help meet demand across eastern Australia.
February 20, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

Earlier this year Shell Australia unveiled two major investments in bitumen facilities to help meet demand across eastern Australia.

The investment will help 763 Shell supply additional bitumen for road reconstruction efforts in south-east Queensland and north-west Victoria that is expected to last for a number of years.

The combined investment of AUD$27 million will create construction jobs in both Brisbane and Geelong, while increased supply will help service civil construction customers into the future.

Shell's marketing general manager Craig James announced the construction of a new bitumen facility at Shell's Geelong Refinery, and an upgrade of existing facilities at the company's Pinkenba site on the Brisbane River.

He said the AUD$20 million (US$21 million) investment in Geelong would include four new hot bitumen tanks and a new road gantry for loading trucks.

The AUD$7 million ($7.3 million) investment in Shell's Pinkenba bitumen facility will take advantage of the import capability of Shell's new wharf on the Brisbane River, and will double the plant's capacity.

"We view bitumen as a key growth area for Shell's Australian business and these facilities will improve supply to civil contractor customers for many years to come," Mr James said.

"In a country as large as Australia there is a high demand for the bitumen used to construct roads, but we are expecting a spike in local demand caused by flood damage that will last for some years." He said that as well as expanding Shell's bitumen capacity, the upgrades will support local manufacture of specialty products such as Shell's Multiphalte range, a product used for Australian airport runway surfacing. The product was recently used on both Adelaide and Melbourne airport upgrades.

"Shell is working with civil contractors and road authorities across Australia to bring technologically advanced bitumen products to market," he said.

The bitumen investments are part of a much larger capital programme "to support Shell's aggressive plans to grow its marketing business in Australia."

Materials

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bitumen technology ideal for road repairs
    July 4, 2012
    Mike Woof discusses some novel developments relating to bitumen In the developed countries of Western Europe there is an increasing shift away from new highway construction to maintaining and rebuilding existing roads. In Germany alone, a network of asphalt roads extending more than 600,000km will have to be maintained or repaired. Highway maintenance techniques do vary between European countries but some commonalities exist. There are techniques that have been sidelined in the last few years but which now
    Read More
  • Increased asphalt demand - meeting the challenge
    February 8, 2012
    With demand for asphalt predicted to increase, manufacturers are ready to meet the challenge as Patrick Smith reports
    Read More
  • Challenges and investment opportunities in East Africa transport infrastructure Sector
    November 21, 2014
    East Africa offers considerable potential for transport infrastructure expansion and investment - Shem Oirere reports Infrastructure, infrastructure and more infrastructure is what is needed to make East Africa the favoured destination and Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda have unveiled grand plans to enhance the infrastructure both nationally and regionally.” This is how market analyst Deloitte introduced its 2014/15 budget analysis for the four countries in July.
    Read More
  • Global pressures driving bitumen developments
    June 19, 2015
    A raft of global pressures is driving developments in the materials and equipment we use for the handling, storage and treatment of bitumen. The goal is to achieve better performance and longer life for less financial outlay, and at the same time overcome the challenges of inconsistent and varying bitumen supplies. Kristina Smith reports.
    Read More

Highlighted Content