A fire at one of Australia’s only two oil refineries could disrupt fuel supply, as the Albanese Government looks to Asia to fill the gap.
Firefighters said the blaze at the Viva Energy Oil Refinery on Wednesday night was a result of equipment failure. It has now been extinguished.
It’s one of two operating refineries in Australia, producing petrol, diesel and jet fuel.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the timing of the incident was “not great”.
Here’s what you need to know.
The facility
Refining oil turns into products such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel through processes including boiling and distilling.
In Australia, there are two remaining refineries: one in Brisbane, owned by Ampol, and another in Geelong, owned by Viva Energy, which supplies to brands including Shell, Reddy Express, and Liberty.
The Viva facility produces around half of Victoria’s fuel supply and about 10% of Australia’s total.
Fire
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On Wednesday night at around 11pm, fire crews were called to reports of a blaze and explosions at the site’s MOGAS (motor gasoline) facility.
MOGAS is standard petrol used in many car engines, including the unleaded fuel available at service stations.
On Thursday morning, Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) Assistant Chief Fire Officer Michael McGuinness described the fire as “dangerous”, due to the “highly flammable” materials involved.
FRV Deputy Commissioner Michelle Cowling told ABC Radio Melbourne on Thursday that "It was an equipment failure in the refinery, Viva is looking into that. So there’ll be a thorough investigation into the failure of how this fire started."
Impact
Viva Energy said most of the refinery’s units are still operating, although at reduced capacity.
CEO Scott Wyatt said production will only increase again once the company is confident it can do so safely.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the main impact “is more on petrol production,” but as the fire is still active he cannot “make any final... conclusions about the impact.”
As of Thursday at 12.30pm AEST, the fire had been extinguished.
