MEDIA RELEASE

     NICK XENOPHON M.L.C.

INDEPENDENT NO POKIES MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

5 October 2005

REVEALED: SINCE YESTERDAY, THE STATE’S BIGGEST STORAGE FACILITY OF UNLEADED PETROL – OF ALMOST 38 MILLION LITRES – HAS BEEN:

RUNNING ON EMPTY

·  State ‘one ship away’ from a fuel crisis.

·  Call on State Govt to give ultimatum to Mobil over Pt Stanvac.

Information provided to No Pokies MLC Nick Xenophon has revealed the State’s biggest storage facility of unleaded petrol – the Mobil/Shell Birkenhead facility of 37.6 million litres (close to half of the entire storage capacity at Birkenhead ) has been empty since yesterday because of a delay in a tanker getting to Adelaide .

The tanker, the Bow Puma, is not due to dock until this afternoon and it is expected supplies of ULP will be available to service stations either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Mr Xenophon renewed his calls for the Government to “get tough” with Mobil over the mothballed Port Stanvac plant – which has a dormant 500 million litre storage capacity.

“The fact that South Australia is one ship away from a fuel crisis is outrageous. We shouldn’t be hostage to big oil companies that are in effect treating consumers with contempt – we’re obviously not a priority for them.”

Mr Xenophon said the ‘mothball’ deal the State Government did with Mobil in 2003 in effect prevents other operators from using the Port Stanvac storage facility or from making an investment in new storage capacity.

“It’s time the Government gave an ultimatum to Mobil to either re-open the storage facility – for other operators if necessary – so that South Australians can have a cheaper, more secure supply of fuel.”

Mr Xenophon said industry sources indicate re-opening the facility will lead to cheaper fuel of between 2 to 4 cents per litre, as well as security of supply. It is understood that Terminals Limited Australia has spent substantial funds investigating using Port Stanvac as an industry fuel terminal without affecting Mobil re-opening the refinery in the future, but that talks with Mobil have not produced results.

”Mobil needs to know they can’t string out the Government or consumers any longer over this.”