Shell Australia suffered a 28 per cent decline in profit due to the shutdowns at its two oil refineries, when it was forced to import fuel at a loss.
The planned shutdowns in the Clyde and Geelong refineries and some unplanned shutdowns last year were a result of its decision to delay refinery overhauls in 2003 because of the Iraq war. The strong petrol volume sales were mainly due to the petrol discounting alliance with Coles supermarket, which created shortages of petrol, this forced Shell to import product at a loss to cover demand.
Shell Australia Chairman Tim Warren said Shell?s retail volumes jumped more than 30 per cent last year.
?On the back of the Coles Myer alliance our retail volumes were up 30 per cent,? Mr. Warren told reporters.
?We were forced to go to the market and import against the spot market volumes to sustain the very good business we have on the back of the Coles Myer alliance.?
