Commonwealth Oil Refineries (COR) was an Australian oil company that operated between 1920 and 1952 as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...

and

Anglo-Persian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; ) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling numbe ...

Early history

The partnership was established in 1920 on the initiative of

Australian prime minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsibl ...

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

. The board was to consist of seven members, three representing the

and four representing the

. The provisional board consisted of: Sir

Robert Garran Sir Robert Randolph Garran (10 February 1867 – 11 January 1957) was an Australian lawyer who became "Australia's first public servant" – the first federal government employee after the federation of the Australian colonies. He served as t ...

, M. C. Lockyer, and Robert Gibson for the Commonwealth, and F. H. Bathurst, Professor Payne, Thomas John Greenway, and W. J. Windeyer for the oil company. Greenway served as chairman for the first year. In 1922, COR purchased the disused

shale oil Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas. The resulting oil c ...

refinery at

Hamilton, New South Wales Hamilton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. The main commercial centre is located around Beaumont Street and boasts a vibrant multicultural atmosphere providing an array ...

, that had been operated by British Australian Oil Company, and relocated equipment from there for use in its new refinery in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. In 1924, the company opened Australia's first refinery to process imported crude oil, near

Laverton, Victoria Laverton established in 1886, is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Hobsons Bay, Hobso ...

, north of the Melbourne - Geelong railway line, adjacent to Kororoit Creek Road. The refinery received its first shipment of crude oil on 12 March 1924, with product coming "on-stream" on 17 May 1924. The refinery had an annual processing capacity of 100,000 tons of crude oil. The refinery was shut down on 6 August 1955, having been eclipsed by much larger refineries built around the country. In the 1930s, the company was involved in oil search ventures.

BP

In 1952, the Menzies government sold the Australian government interest in COR to the

Anglo-Iranian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; ) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling numbe ...

, which became the BP in 1954. The last speech in parliament by former prime minister, Billy Hughes, was an attack on the Menzies government's decision to sell its share in COR, the state-owned enterprise Hughes' government had established over 30 years earlier. According to Herbert Evatt, his speech "seemed at once to grip the attention of all honourable members present ... nobody left the House, and nobody seemed to dare to move". In 1955, BP developed the

Kwinana Oil Refinery The Kwinana Oil Refinery was sited on the shore of Cockburn Sound at the suburb of Kwinana Beach, near Fremantle, Western Australia. Built by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and completed in 1955, it was the largest oil ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

BP/COR

Between 1952 and 1959, BP Australia branded its standard-grade petrol as COR, but then dropped the name.

References

Works cited

* {{Authority control Anglo-Persian Oil Company Defunct oil and gas companies of Australia Energy companies established in 1920 Energy companies disestablished in 1957 Former Commonwealth Government-owned companies of Australia Former joint ventures 1920 establishments in Australia 1957 disestablishments in Australia