Queensland's fuel and ethanol operations were largely unaffected in the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi, local suppliers said Monday.
As of Monday, all of BP Australia's terminals in North Queensland were "largely undamaged and operating normally within the constraints of the situation relating to road conditions and power supply in the affected areas," said the company's spokesman Jamie Jardine told Platts.
BP's ethanol supplier in Queensland, Sucrogen Bioethanol, had declared a force majeure at its 60 million liters/year molasses-based ethanol plant at Sarina Distillery in central Queensland while its plant is shut for 150 days from around January 15.
All of Shell Australia's terminals in Queensland are open and operating, said the company's spokesman Paul Zennaro.
Shell had shut its Pinkenba Terminal at Eagle Farm in southeast Queensland on January 12 due to severe flooding, while its other terminals at Gladstone, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Newcastle and Paramatta operated normally.
Meanwhile, ethanol producer Dalby Biorefinery did not face any more disruptions from Cyclone Yasi and its 80 million liters/year red sorghum-based plant in Queensland was in full production, Chief Financial Officer Mike Newbury said Monday. The plant was shut on January 7 due to heavy rain and flooding in Queensland, but there was no damage to the facility. It was restarted over January 22-23.
Cyclone Yasi struck the northern coast of Queensland near Cardwell, 480 km north of the Dalrymple Bay terminal, as a ferocious Category 5 storm with wind speed of nearly 300 kmph. Yasi continued inland reaching Mt Isa as a downgraded Tropical Low Thursday and by Friday had been downgraded further to an Ex-Tropical Cyclone.
