Commonwealth Oil Refineries

Commonwealth Oil Refineries (COR) was an Australian oil company and petroleum brand created in 1920 as a joint venture between the Commonwealth Government of Australia and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, later known as the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and then BP. The venture was established during the administration of Prime Minister Billy Hughes, reflecting the Australian government’s interest in developing a domestic refining capability and securing reliable access to petroleum products. COR’s corporate structure gave the Australian government three representatives on a seven-member board, while the Anglo-Persian Oil Company appointed four. The provisional board included Sir Robert Garran, M. C. Lockyer and Robert Gibson for the Commonwealth, and F. H. Bathurst, Professor Payne, Thomas John Greenway and W. J. Windeyer for the oil company. Greenway served as chairman during the first year. This arrangement placed a strategically important fuel business under joint public and private control rather than leaving refining entirely to overseas commercial interests. In 1922, COR acquired a disused shale-oil refinery at Hamilton in New South Wales that had previously been operated by British Australian Oil Company. Equipment from the Hamilton site was relocated for use in the company’s new Victorian refinery. The resulting facility, built near Laverton west of Melbourne, became Australia’s first refinery designed to process imported crude oil. Its first crude shipment arrived on 12 March 1924, and production began on 17 May of the same year. The refinery had an annual capacity of approximately 100,000 tons of crude oil, making it an important early step in the development of Australia’s petroleum-processing infrastructure. During the 1930s, COR also participated in oil-search ventures, extending its activities beyond refining and fuel distribution. Its business therefore combined elements of crude-oil exploration, refining and the marketing of petroleum products. The company’s retail and fuel identity later became associated with the COR name in Australia, including standard-grade petrol sold under the COR designation after the change in ownership. A major turning point came in 1952, when the Menzies government sold the Australian government’s interest in COR to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The transaction ended the original public–private ownership structure and transferred full control to the British oil company. The decision was strongly criticized by former Prime Minister Billy Hughes, whose final parliamentary speech attacked the sale of the enterprise that his government had helped establish more than three decades earlier. Herbert Evatt later recalled the unusual attention the speech received in Parliament. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company changed its name to British Petroleum, or BP, in 1954. BP subsequently developed the Kwinana refinery in Western Australia in 1955. COR’s original Laverton refinery was shut down on 6 August 1955 after larger refineries elsewhere in Australia made the relatively small facility commercially and industrially obsolete. Although the corporate venture had ended in 1952, BP Australia continued to use COR as a brand for standard-grade petrol between 1952 and 1959. The name was then discontinued, completing the transition from the historic COR identity to BP branding.

Commonwealth Oil Refineries was established in 1920 as a joint venture between the Australian Commonwealth Government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The initiative was associated with Prime Minister Billy Hughes and sought to give Australia a stronger role in petroleum refining and fuel security. The board structure reserved three seats for Commonwealth representatives and four for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The provisional board included Sir Robert Garran, M. C. Lockyer and Robert Gibson for the Commonwealth, and F. H. Bathurst, Professor Payne, Thomas John Greenway and W. J. Windeyer for the oil company. Greenway was the first chairman. The company expanded its physical assets in 1922 by buying the disused shale-oil refinery at Hamilton, New South Wales, previously operated by British Australian Oil Company. Rather than restoring the Hamilton plant as its main facility, COR moved equipment from the site to Victoria for a new refinery. The Laverton refinery, located north of the Melbourne–Geelong railway line near Kororoit Creek Road, was designed to process imported crude oil. It received its first crude shipment on 12 March 1924 and began production on 17 May. With an annual capacity of 100,000 tons of crude, it represented a foundational stage in Australia’s modern refining industry. COR’s activities were not limited to refining. During the 1930s it participated in oil-search ventures, reflecting the company’s interest in the wider petroleum supply chain. Its products and fuel-marketing presence became associated with the COR name, including standard-grade petrol. The company’s early role was especially important because Australia’s refining network was still developing and later facilities would be substantially larger. Ownership changed in 1952 when the Menzies government sold the Australian government’s stake to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The sale ended the government’s direct participation in the enterprise and prompted a political dispute. Billy Hughes, who had been associated with the venture’s creation, used his final parliamentary speech to condemn the decision. Herbert Evatt later described the intense attention the speech received from other parliamentarians. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company adopted the BP name in 1954. In 1955 BP developed the Kwinana refinery in Western Australia, while COR’s Laverton refinery closed on 6 August of that year as larger refineries made it uncompetitive. The corporate joint venture therefore ceased to operate as an independent entity after the 1952 sale, while the physical refinery remained in service for several additional years. BP Australia retained the COR name on standard-grade petrol between 1952 and 1959, after which the brand was retired in favor of BP branding. COR is consequently remembered both as an early Australian refining company and as a short-lived petroleum retail identity within the later BP Australia business.

• 1959

  COR petrol branding is retired

  [1]Commonwealth Oil Refineriesen.wikipedia.org

  BP Australia ends its use of the COR name for standard-grade petrol.

• 1955

  Laverton refinery closes

  [1]Commonwealth Oil Refineriesen.wikipedia.org

  The Laverton refinery shuts on 6 August after being overtaken by larger Australian refineries.

• 1954

  Anglo-Iranian Oil Company becomes BP

  [1]Commonwealth Oil Refineriesen.wikipedia.org

  COR’s controlling oil-company shareholder adopts the British Petroleum name.

• 1952

  Commonwealth ownership is sold

  [1]Commonwealth Oil Refineriesen.wikipedia.org

  The Menzies government sells its interest in COR to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

• 1930

  Oil-search activities expand

  [1]Commonwealth Oil Refineriesen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1930s, COR participates in ventures seeking oil resources in Australia.

• 1924

  Laverton refinery starts production

  [1]Commonwealth Oil Refineriesen.wikipedia.org

  The Laverton facility receives its first imported crude shipment in March and begins processing in May.

• 1922

  Hamilton refinery acquired

  [1]Commonwealth Oil Refineriesen.wikipedia.org

  COR purchases the disused Hamilton shale-oil refinery in New South Wales and relocates equipment for its Victorian project.

• 1920

  COR is established

  [1]Commonwealth Oil Refineriesen.wikipedia.org

  The Australian government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company establish Commonwealth Oil Refineries as a jointly governed petroleum venture.

A nationally significant Australian petroleum enterprise combining government participation with the technical and commercial resources of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. COR was positioned around domestic refining capacity, fuel supply and the development of Australia’s early oil industry.

• Petrol · 1952

  COR standard-grade petrol

  Standard-grade petrol marketed under the COR name by BP Australia after the Australian government’s interest was sold in 1952. The COR designation remained in use until 1959, when BP discontinued the historic brand identity.

• Refined petroleum products · 1924

  Laverton refinery products

  Petroleum products made at COR’s Laverton refinery near Melbourne. The facility was Australia’s first refinery built to process imported crude oil and had an annual capacity of about 100,000 tons. It operated from 1924 until its closure in 1955.

• 1959

  Retirement of COR brandingStrategy

  Background

  BP Australia had continued using COR for standard-grade petrol after taking full ownership of the former joint venture.

  Action taken

  BP Australia discontinued the COR name and consolidated its fuel branding under BP.

  Aftermath

  The COR identity disappeared from BP Australia’s standard-grade petrol branding.

  Source

• 1955

  Closure of the Laverton refineryStrategy

  Background

  The 100,000-ton annual Laverton facility faced increasing competition from much larger refineries constructed around Australia.

  Action taken

  The refinery was shut down on 6 August 1955.

  Aftermath

  Refining activity shifted toward larger facilities, including BP’s Kwinana refinery developed in Western Australia.

  Source

• 1952

  Sale of the Australian government’s COR interestM&A

  Background

  The Menzies government reviewed the future of the government’s shareholding in the jointly owned oil company.

  Action taken

  The Commonwealth sold its interest to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

  Aftermath

  The original government–company joint venture ended, and Billy Hughes publicly criticized the transaction in Parliament.

  Source

• 1922

  Relocation of Hamilton refinery equipmentStrategy

  Background

  COR acquired a disused shale-oil refinery at Hamilton, New South Wales, as part of its effort to establish a larger and more suitable refining operation.

  Action taken

  The company moved equipment from Hamilton to Victoria for use in the new Laverton refinery.

  Aftermath

  The relocated equipment contributed to the refinery that began processing imported crude in 1924.

  Source

1. 1Commonwealth Oil Refineriesen.wikipedia.org