A major fire at one of Australia’s last two oil refineries could significantly disrupt petrol production, raising concerns over national fuel security amid global supply disruptions.
SYDNEY: A fire at one of Australia’s two operating oil refineries could hit petrol production more than diesel and aviation fuel, authorities said on Thursday, as emergency crews worked to extinguish the blaze.
Firefighters were battling a fire at Viva Energy’s motor gasoline production unit at its Geelong refinery in Victoria state, which processes crude into petrol. No injuries have been reported from the fire, which emergency crews were alerted to at about 11 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Wednesday.
“The fire is not yet under control. So, there’s still some way to go. This is not a positive development, but obviously there’s a long way to go in terms of working out just what the impact is,” Australia’s Energy Minister Chris Bowen told Channel Nine.
The incident comes as Australia seeks to shore up fuel security amid global supply disruptions due to the Middle East conflict that have led to local panic-buying of petrol and diesel. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is visiting Malaysia on Thursday to discuss securing supplies from regional allies.
“At this point, production of jet fuel and diesel is continuing at the refinery at reduced levels for safety reasons, as a precaution … the impact is mainly on petrol production, but obviously, this is very early days,” Bowen said.
Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt told reporters the primary focus was to completely put out the fire that hit operations at two units at the refinery before assessing damage at the site and safely restoring production.
“All the other units are still operating and still in production but they are at minimum rates to maintain safety across the site,” he said.
“We’ll only start increasing production again once we’re confident that we can do that safely.”
The Geelong refinery, located about an hour’s drive from Melbourne, can process up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day and supplies more than half of Victoria’s fuel needs and 10% of Australia’s total demand.
Fire authorities said there was no threat to the public, although smoke could affect some nearby areas and traffic restrictions were in place. Emergency crews were dispatched after multiple calls reporting explosions and flames.
The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but it comes as Australia has faced mounting concerns over fuel supply since Iran all but closed the Strait of Hormuz after being attacked by the U.S. and Israel.
Last month, Albanese announced temporary relief measures including halving the fuel excise and suspending the heavy road user charge for three months to help households cope with a surge in costs driven by the Iran war.
