Production pumped up

THE Altona Refinery is to receive its biggest single investment in more than a decade, increasing its crude oil storage capacity by almost half.

Owner ExxonMobil Australia will today announce a $50 million investment to build a 100 million litre tank at the refinery in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

The new storage facility will equal the size of Australia’s biggest existing crude oil tank in Geelong.

It will allow the Altona operation to quickly unload crude from ships, lowering costs and making the refinery more globally competitive.