Perdaman to Lead Study for Australia's First New Oil Refinery in 60 Years

Until this week, the name Perdaman was probably not front of mind for most Australians.

That changed on Tuesday when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed the privately-owned multinational would lead plans for the country's first new oil refinery in more than 60 years.

The $4 million pre-feasibility study is set to examine what it would take to build such a facility along the West Australian coast.

Indian-owned but headquartered in Perth, Perdaman has interests in fertiliser, pharmaceuticals, property, chemicals, labour hire and renewable energy.

Mr Albanese made the announcement at the company's Project Ceres site, a vast urea plant still under construction on the Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga, about 1,540 kilometres north of WA's capital.

Much like oil, global urea supply chains have been thrown into disarray by the war in the Middle East, sending fertiliser prices soaring domestically.

Due to open next year, the plant is expected to produce 2.3 million tonnes of urea annually, making it one of the world's largest.

But for those living in the $6.4 billion flagship project's shadow, the emergence of Perdaman on the national stage comes with a complicated history.

Rock art removal

Murujuga is culturally significant to traditional owners and dotted with tens of thousands of Indigenous rock carvings, including the oldest known depiction of the human face.

Ngarluma woman and Murujuga custodian Samantha Walker protested against the Perdaman plant as it broke ground in 2023, citing concern for these ancient petroglyphs.

Ms Walker said Australia should know about the company's dealings with Indigenous people.

"This is a company that has and continuously has no respect to engage … or consider anything that the traditional owners or the people of the country have to say," she said.

"If you can't listen to the people who belong to that landscape, who belong to the country and know the country best.

The "hurdles" Ms Walker described related to the level of consultation between Perdaman and the five Aboriginal language groups responsible for Murujuga: the Yaburara, the Ngarluma, the Mardathoonera, the Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo, and the Yindjibarndi.

Three sacred sites were relocated to make way for Project Ceres, while another remains inaccessible at the outskirts of Perdaman's lay-down area.

They were moved with state and federal government approval after seeking advice from the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC), which represents the language groups.

The decision was nevertheless opposed by multiple traditional owners and a letter viewed by the ABC suggested MAC had initially refused to give consent before later acquiescing.

Perdaman was not legally required to seek this permission as the land was already zoned for industrial use.

MAC chairman and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo representative Peter Hicks was present for the prime minister's press conference on Tuesday.

A lone demonstrator, Mardathoonera woman and Save our Songlines activist Raelene Cooper, was restrained by event security and ultimately issued a notice to move on by WA Police.

In a statement, Perdaman chair Vikas Rambal said the company had undertaken comprehensive consultation "as required under applicable Commonwealth and Western Australian regulatory frameworks".

"Throughout the development of Project Ceres, the company has engaged extensively and collaboratively with relevant traditional owner representative organisations," he said.

Mr Rambal declined to answer further questions from the ABC.

Push for Browse

The refinery pre-feasibility study pulls the fertiliser giant into another major environmental debate.

Last week in Federal Court, Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt defended granting Perdaman's neighbour Woodside his approval to keep operating its North West Shelf facilities until 2070.

He did so while acknowledging the resulting emissions could harm Murujuga's rock art, contrary to the energy company's own position.

The admission did not stop Mr Rambal from using Tuesday's announcement to lobby assembled politicians about another gas project touted by Woodside: the Browse Basin development, off the Kimberley coast.

"I don't know if the prime minister knows that the Browse project … has got lots of condensate," Mr Rambal said.

"We would request [the] prime minister, premier keep that in mind that all the condensate can go to this refinery project."

While Browse has mainly been spruked as Australia's largest untapped reserve of natural gas, condensate may also be refined into petrol, diesel, and jet fuel.

Perdaman signed a 20-year offtake agreement with Woodside in 2023.

Mr Albanese flatly denied the study of a new WA refinery could apply pressure to Browse's independent environmental assessment.

Next steps unclear

Public records show Perdaman has donated $138,930 to the WA Labor Party since mid-2024, in addition to $11,500 to the WA Liberals and $3,000 to the state's Nationals Party.

Questions persist around the location of its prospective refinery and, Browse notwithstanding, where it would source the necessary oil.

Premier Roger Cook told reporters the focus would be on the state's Midwest and South West.

But both he and the prime minister emphasised Perdaman was a safe choice for the job, having already received $475 million in government loans to deliver Project Ceres.

The company estimates the construction created 2,500 jobs, while 200 ongoing jobs will come from its operations.

"That's an investment that will produce a return," Mr Albanese said.

Addressing the news cameras, Mr Rambal added Perdaman had the skills to help make Australia self-reliant.