Royal Commission on Petroleum

Cabinet agreed on 20 July 1973 to a royal commission on the refining, marketing and pricing of petroleum and petroleum products; Letters Patent were issued on 12 September 1973 (Gazette No 129, 20 September 1973). Justice Wilfred Herbert Collins of the Supreme Court of New South Wales was sole commissioner. Specific issues included the number, location and type of refineries, the need for more refinery capacity in Sydney, whether prices were excessive, marketing practices and discounting, and transfer pricing by subsidiaries of overseas oil companies.

1. October 1974First report, on shortages of petroleum products.
2. December 1974Second report, on proposals for new refineries in New South Wales.
3. September 1975Third report, on the transfer of allocated indigenous crude oil by Allied Petrochemicals to ACTU-Solo Enterprises.
4. April 1976Fourth report, on the marketing and pricing of petroleum products.

Ended on 1 November 1976 after producing six reports, including reports on shortages of petroleum products (October 1974), proposals for new refineries in New South Wales (December 1974), the transfer of indigenous crude oil to ACTU-Solo Enterprises (September 1975) and the marketing and pricing of petroleum products (April 1976).

• Petroleum refining capacity and location
• Marketing and pricing of petroleum products
• Trading practices of oil companies

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