"IT'S a very sad day," Greg King said as he gazed towards the huge steel structures, which will soon be demolished, possibly to become scrap.
For almost 59 years, the Caltex oil refinery at Kurnell converted imported crude oil into petrol and other fuels for the people of NSW.
But this week the refinery was shut down for all time, and the site "reborn" as a terminal for imported fuel.
Mr King, the refinery manager and a resident of Bonnet Bay, started at the plant 33 years ago as a process engineer on the wonderfully named "cat crackers" (catalytic crackers).
"I loved working here," he said.
"We are proud of what we achieved, but it is the end of an era.
"I suppose it's progress.
"The last two and a half years [since the closure was announced] has been very challenging, but the workforce has done wonders and we have the best safety and reliability record."
Mr King said a lot of his mates had left or would soon go.
"I will probably be leaving at the end of next year."
David Peninton, the manager of the new terminal, said he was excited by the challenge of continuing to meet the state's fuel needs, albeit in a different way.
Mr Peninton, who has worked for Caltex for 26 years — but not previously at Kurnell — has moved with his family into the nearby township.
"We absolutely love it," he said.
Caltex Australia's general manager of supply chain operations, Andrew Brewer, said only 45 employees, compared with 430 before the process started, would remain by the time the $270 million conversion was completed.
Contractors would perform other services.
"Many employees [who were made redundant] have found other roles within Caltex or the terminal," he said.
Mr Brewer said people in NSW could continue to "look with confidence to Caltex Kurnell as the source of their transport fuel needs".
The company had a very secure supply chain, short transport routes and many suppliers including Korea, Japan, India and Singapore.
Mr Brewer said petrol prices at the bowser would not be affected.
FLARE LAST TO GO
Caltex is talking to two overseas companies about buying the refinery.
If a deal can’t be done, efforts will be made to sell components or equipment separately.
Anything that can’t be sold will become scrap.
It will be a few weeks before the flare, a familiar part of the Sutherland Shire skyline, is extinguished.
A Caltex Australia spokesman said while fuel was no longer being produced, some minor support units had yet to be shut down.
‘‘The flare will be the last thing to go,’’ he said.
Are you sad to see the refinery go? Share your memories or send photos to christiner@fairfaxmedia.com.au