Shell has announced the opening of its new facility in Port Botany, Sydney, which the company says will increase its production of bitumen for some key NSW road infrastructure projects.
The new plant will supply bitumen for projects including Camden Valley Way in Western Sydney and the Princes Highway upgrades underway in the Illawarra.
“Like the Shell Bitumen facility in Geelong, the Port Botany facility includes the capability to blend product ‘in-line’, offering significant product and supply flexibility by allowing production of the complete suite of NSW bitumen grades,” said Scott Wyatt, Shell Vice President – Downstream Australia.
The company now has the capability to supply all NSW bitumen grades from three strategic supply locations on the east coast with plants in Port Botany, Pinkenba in Brisbane and Geelong and Laverton in Victoria.
The new facility is owned and operated by VOPAK, the world’s largest independent tank storage provider, who specialise in the storage and handling of oil products, LPG and liquid chemicals.
“During the construction of the facility almost 200 people were employed at any one time and thousands more jobs will be created during the construction of these roads,” said Duncan Gay, Minister for Roads and Freight.
The facility includes three bitumen tanks with over 21,000 tonnes storage capacity and an automatic, dual bay gantry that provides load capacity of 60 tonnes per hour at each bay.