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BP Bulwer Island Refinery

Refinery in Australia. Approximate location -27.40301, 153.1394.

RefineryAustralia

BP Bulwer Island Refinery is a refinery in Australia. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by BP PLC.

0reported capacity — the source does not distinguish closed or idle; treat as historical/unverified

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3143735.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityBP Bulwer Island Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryAustralia Climate TRACE
Coordinates-27.40301, 153.1394 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorBP PLC Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Operating power plants within 50 km

PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.

In context: how this facility compares

Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

Operator

Operated by BP PLC. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

BP Bulwer Island Refinery sits in a humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), at 27.4°S in the southern hemisphere.

~18°Ctypical annual mean
~27°Ctypical warm-season
Humid subtropical: hot summers and mild winters

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
46/100environmental-severity index
10.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
38 kmdistance to coast
Very highCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1296 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.00× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1231 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates -27.40301, 153.1394. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 54,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 11,000 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Indicative range based on typical exposed hot equipment for this sector.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

External climate finance your country can access

For energy-efficiency projects around process heat, likely external funding channels include:

Sources: country climate-finance facilities and public development-bank programmes.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is BP Bulwer Island Refinery?

BP Bulwer Island Refinery is a refinery in Australia. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Where is BP Bulwer Island Refinery located?

BP Bulwer Island Refinery is in Australia at approximately -27.40301, 153.1394.

Who operates BP Bulwer Island Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is BP PLC.

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