Overview
- Federal and Western Australian leaders announced a jointly funded $4 million pre‑feasibility and pre‑FEED study for a potential large refinery at Karratha on Tuesday to test the project’s viability.
- Perdaman is the project proponent and would build and operate the plant if the studies and later approvals support proceeding, and the study is the first award from a broader multi‑billion dollar fuel security package.
- Ministers and experts say a new refinery would still depend on imported crude and would take many years to deliver, with industry estimates commonly cited at seven to ten years before production could start.
- The plan drew mixed reactions with conditional Coalition support, praise from federal and state leaders for jobs and regional benefits, and criticism from some Nationals, the Greens, and Murujuga custodians over heritage and environmental concerns.
- The announcement responds to recent global supply shocks and low days‑of‑supply figures and sits alongside other measures such as increased minimum stockholdings, temporary excise relief, and strategic fuel procurements to boost short‑term resilience.