A major fire has broken out at one of Australia’s two oil refineries, deepening fears over the nation’s petrol supplies amid a global fuel crunch.
Emergency crews rushed to Viva’s Corio oil refinery in Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, just before midnight on Wednesday, after reports of explosions and flames. The refinery produces 50% of Victoria’s fuel and 10% of the nation’s.
No one has been injured, but the blaze continues to burn and has prompted warnings about air quality in the area.
The refinery is still partially operational – jet fuel and diesel will continue to be made at reduced levels as a safety precaution – but the government has warned of impacts to petrol production.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the fire was “not great timing” with Australia’s fuel supplies under pressure since war broke out in Iran creating a global oil crisis.
The price of diesel in Australia has doubled in recent weeks, with fuel stations reporting shortages amid reports of panic buying, while airlines are cutting back some services as jet fuel costs rise.
“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,” Bowen told Nine’s Today show on Thursday, adding he is working closely with the company.
“Obviously, this is very early days.”
The cause of the fire was due to “equipment failure”, Fire Rescue Victoria said, adding there will be an investigation.
The refinery produces about 120,000 barrels of oil per day, and employs over 1,100 people.
Viva Energy chief executive Scott Wyatt said production “is not our primary priority today… it’s getting the site safe”.
He said the fire had affected two petrol production units but others were undamaged.
“But naturally petrol will be one of the products that are potentially impacted,” he said.
“We’ll only start increasing production again once we’re confident we can do that safely.”
Australia relies heavily on imported refined fuels – primarily from countries like Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia – which should mean any impact of the fire on domestic fuel availability is limited, experts say.
“This diversified supply chain provides a degree of resilience against short-term domestic disruptions,” University of Sydney Professor Yuan Chen said in a statement.
“[It] doesn’t mean people will run out of fuel tomorrow, but it does narrow the buffer we have to absorb shocks,” Swinburne University of Technology’s Hussein Dia said.
Ronnie Hayden, state secretary of the Victorian branch of the Australian Workers’ Union, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that between 50 to 100 workers were at the refinery when the fire broke out but were evacuated safely.
Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj said the fire was “unprecedented” and is likely to continue to burn for several hours.
“I’ve spoken to management there this morning and needless to say, this has been a huge shock and has rocked them,” he told the ABC.
“The fire is still burning and will have to just burn out. Because of the intensity, it was difficult for the fire units to do much other than to watch.”
