GrainCorp has opened a new $45 million state-of -the-art liquid storage tank facility at the Port of Brisbane.
The new storages have capacity to hold 20 million litres of petrol and 25 million litres of diesel - enough to fill 750,000 farm four-wheel-drive fuel tanks.
The bulk storage facility at Pinkenba is part of a $70m spending program at three locations by GrainCorp’s oils division which owns 14 liquid storage sites in Australia, New Zealand and in China used by the food, petroleum and chemical industries.
New and upgraded sites at Fremantle in Western Australia and NSW’s Port Kembla opened last year.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was in Brisbane to take part in the official commissioning celebrations.
GrainCorp chairman, Don Taylor, said the efficient supply of fuel to the Brisbane market was good for competition and good for Queensland motorists.
“Our facility provides a new and independent supply chain from refinery to the bowser and increases the utilisation of the Brisbane port zone,” he said.
“We have invested over $45 million to ensure the site is built to world class standards of safety and efficiency.”
The new facility includes a substantial underground piping network to pump fuel from GrainCorp’s berth to the storage tanks more than a kilometre away.
At today’s bowser price, the facility can pump $50,000 of fuel from ship to shore every minute.
The project was supported by GrainCorp Oils customer, Freedom Fuels, which will be using the bulk storage tanks as the base from which fuel would be distributed to a network of independent fuel stations.
Freedom Fuels is a subsidiary of Japanese petroleum refining company Idemitsu Kosan.
Freedom Fuels chief executive officer, Rob McCagh, said the new development was a great extension to longstanding terminal arrangements held with GrainCorp.
“Queensland is a very important market for us and we are committed to delivering drivers the choice of independently supplied high quality fuels at a great price,” Mr McCagh said.
Construction started on the site in 2014 and finished ahead of schedule and on budget.
The site has the latest in automation, safety, security and environmental systems.
