 |
The Commonwealth Government mandated uniform national standards
for the quality of petrol and automotive diesel fuel in December
2000 under the Commonwealth Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000
(FQS Act) and the Fuel Quality Standards Regulations
2001. This legislation provides the framework for the harmonisation
of Australian fuel quality standards with international standards
and is an essential step in implementing the Commonwealth Government's
commitment to reduce pollution from vehicle emissions and to
facilitate the adoption of better, cleaner emission control
technology, and the more effective operation of engines.
Over the next 10 years, the new clean fuels standards are
expected to significantly reduce the amount of pollutants
emitted by vehicles, including benzene and particulate emissions.
It is broadly acknowledged that the cleaner air will be good
for our health, for local and global environments, and for
reducing the economic and social costs of illnesses linked
to vehicle pollution. The new fuel quality standards will
also complement evolving fuel efficiency and emission control
technologies, allowing modern vehicles to operate at peak
performance.
A program of works needs to be undertaken within the borders
of the Caltex refineries at Kurnell in Sydney and Lytton in
Brisbane to allow the production of fuels that comply with the
requirements under the FQS Act. This program of works is referred
to as the Clean Fuels Project.
The objective of the Clean Fuels Project is to meet the key
quality specifications for petrol and diesel mandated by the
new clean fuels legislation. These changes, which have to be
available "at the pump" by 1 January 2006, include
reduction of the maximum amount of benzene in petrol to 1% and
reduction of the maximum amount of sulfur in diesel to less
than 50 parts per million (ppm).
These projects represent a key step in the implementation
of the Commonwealth Government's goals for the production
of cleaner fuels to reduce air pollution from vehicle emissions
and demonstrates Caltex's commitment to the ongoing production
of fuels which meet the new stringent standards in the Australian
market. Major projects like these require environmental impact
studies.
- Click here
for the link and Lytton Refinery Environmental Impact Statement
- Click here
for the link to the Kurnell Refinery Statement of Environmental
Effects.
The global drive to cleaner petrol and diesel will have major
implications for the Australian refining industry, as Caltex
Managing Director Dave Reeves spelled out in an address to
the Hart World Fuels conference in Sydney in October 2003.
Click here
for a transcript of the speech.
|
|
