Key agreement boosts Port Bonython proposal

The State Government is expected to respond to the Port Bonython deep-sea port feasibility study this month.

PBF (85%-owned by Stuart Petroleum and 15% by the Scott Group of Companies) will buy 74 ha at Port Bonython in the upper Spencer Gulf, Stuart said today.

PBF also has a 10-year option to buy a second parcel of 64 ha.

Once approvals are gained, work should begin at the end of this calendar year to establish a 500m litre a year diesel import, storage, and distribution facility at Port Bonython by mid-2011.

Stuart said the new facility would result in:

100,000 dwt tankers being able to berth at Port Bonython as opposed to the 28,000 dwt which currently land the bulk of the state's diesel fuel at Port Adelaide;

road haulage distances to customers in the north and west of the state being significantly lower from Port Bonython than from Port Adelaide; and

road safety issues associated with moving large volumes of fuel through metropolitan Adelaide being overcome.

This project is a key piece of infrastructure which will support the expansion of industry in the north and west of the State for decades to come, Stuart Petroleum managing director Tino Guglielmo said

Port Bonython Fuels has been pleased to work closely with the South Australian Government to achieve an important milestone in development of the state's north.