MinRes boss Chris Ellison asked Roger Cook to intervene in $1bn levy dispute with Chevron

Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison asked WA’s Labor premier a year ago to intervene in a row brewing over iron ore shipping charges, a court in Perth heard on Wednesday.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook. Picture: NewsWire/Philip Gostelow

Embattled Mineral Resources boss Chris Ellison wrote to West Australian premier Roger Cook asking for him to intervene in a dispute over contested shipping levies involving MinRes, oil and gas giant Chevron and the WA-owned port authority.

The existence of the letter was revealed in court on Wednesday as MinRes challenges multimillion-dollar fees apparently owed on iron ore shipped out of port facilities at Onslow on the WA coast.

The Australian revealed in April that Chevron stands to pocket more than $1bn from MinRes over the life of a major iron ore project under the terms of a secret port agreement with the WA government.

That’s because Pilbara Ports imposed a 90c per tonne shipping channel levy and a 50c per tonne cargo wharf levy from mid-2024, with the state’s blessing, just as MinRes’s Onslow Iron project was coming into production.

Chevron is not a party to the legal dispute playing out in the WA Supreme Court, but had a lawyer observe a directions hearing before Justice Jenni Hill. Pilbara Ports is represented by Bret Walker SC.

The court heard Mr Ellison wrote to Mr Cook almost a year ago as MinRes sought relief from the levy obligation. 

Mr Walker referred to Mr Ellison’s gambit, and said Pilbara Ports had a straightforward claim from MinRes.

“Political or business posturing such as Mr Ellison saw fit to communicate to the Premier is really not to the point,” Mr Walker told the court. “It’s a straightforward matter of moneys payable, but if they’re not payable, the court is the place where that should be determined.”

It is understood WA government representatives met with both Pilbara Ports and Chevron on after Mr Ellison’s letter.

Chevron appears to have stood its ground in talks with the government about its rights in regard to third-party use of a shipping channel and cargo wharf at the Port of Ashburton, where Onslow operates. The channel and wharf are classed as state-owned public ­infrastructure.

It is understood the WA government started talks with Chevron as far back as 2022 under the secret agreement from which the oil and gas company is widely believed to benefit, having built the infrastructure.

Pilbara Ports turned to legal action against MinRes to recover $5m and more it alleges is owed by the Perth-based company.

MinRes regards the port charges as invalid will not pay. It is demanding to see the secret agreement struck between Chevron and the WA government after having requests to view it denied.

Grant Donaldson SC, representing MinRes, told the court on Wednesday that the Ellison-led miner didn’t even know which government entity had signed the deal with Chevron. He contrasted the secrecy with state agreements covering most other big resources developments in WA that are debated in parliament and in pubic view.

Mr Donaldson said: “Those whom I represent just want to be satisfied that this decision (to apply the levies) has been validly made because the consequences for them are very, very substantial,” regarding access to the Chevron agreement and other documents.

Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison. Picture: Supplied

Justice Hill questioned aspects of the MinRes case and referred to correspondence with Pilbara Ports where the miner said there was no basis for “taking money out of the hands of a hardworking WA company and putting it in the hands of a Texan oil company”.

Justice Hill said the agreement between the state and Chevron “might be the worst deal in the world” but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a commercial justification for it.

Part of the MinRes case relies on a section of the WA Port Authorities Act that states charges must be in line with “prudent commercial principles”.

Mr Ellison and MinRes declined to answer questions about the letter to Mr Cook, and any subsequent correspondence, or whether it led to meetings with the premier.

“It would be inappropriate to comment while the matter is before the courts,” a MinRes spokesman said.

Mr Cook declined to respond to questions about the letter from Mr Ellison and what, if any, action he took. He also declined to comment on his relationship with Mr Ellison and MinRes.

A spokesman for Mr Cook said: “As previously stated, this matter is before the courts, with Pilbara Ports Authority exercising its right to take action to recover unpaid and overdue port charges. The state government supports all parties reaching an agreement to resolve the matter.”

It is understood MinRes knew about the potential for levies while planning Onslow, but received verbal assurances from WA government officials they would be waived.

It had notice it would need to pay up in June last year, The Australian was told. Mr Ellison wrote to Mr Cook soon afterwards.

The Australian exposed the three-way stand-off in April.

In November, after scandal-plagued MinRes announced plans for Mr Ellison’s managed exit, Mr Cook said he would not ask WA Labor to hand back almost $9000 in donations from the miner and defended the government’s relationship with the company.

“I work closely with Mineral Resources, I work closely with all resource companies in WA,” Mr Cook told ABC Radio at the time.

MinRes donated $8750 to WA Labor in July last year.

And, MinRes hired Mr Cook’s predecessor as Labor premier, Mark McGowan, as a part-time strategic adviser in 2023.

Chevron said: “This matter is between Mineral Resources and the Pilbara Ports Authority (Pilbara Ports),” a spokesman said. “It’s disappointing that Mineral Resources continues to seek to implicate Chevron Australia in their failure to pay known fees for use of the Port of Ashburton.

“Chevron Australia, on behalf of the Wheatstone Joint Venture, constructed the Port of Ashburton during development of the Wheatstone Project and handed it over to the Pilbara Ports Authority at no cost in stages between 2017 and 2018.

“Subsequent project proponents, such as Mineral Resources, have benefited from our investment by avoiding having to make these capital investments themselves.”

MinRes built its own transhipper wharf and facilities west of the infrastructure constructed by Chevron as part of its $3.5bn Onslow project, but uses part of shipping channel dredged by Chevron to accommodate LNG carriers.

MinRes also makes use of public cargo wharf for shift changes and maintenance work.