An explosive fire has broken out at an oil refinery in Victoria, raising fears petrol supplies to the state – and Australia as a whole – will be affected amid the ongoing fuel supply crisis brought on by the war in the Middle East. Here’s what we know so far about the fire, its cause and likely impact on the economy.
What we know so far
The blaze at the Viva Energy facility in Corio, in Geelong’s northern suburbs, broke out just after 11pm on Wednesday, with Fire Rescue Victoria alerted to the incident by multiple calls to triple zero “reporting explosions and flames”.
About 50 firefighters, 10 fire trucks and a boat attended the scene, the Fire Rescue Victoria assistant chief fire officer, Michael McGuinness, told reporters at a media conference on Thursday morning.
McGuinness said when it began, the blaze was “quite ferocious”, with “several explosions” turning it into “quite a large intense fire”.
McGuinness said the fire was mainly being fed by various types of hydrocarbon fuels: “Predominantly liquid petrol … and also some gas and vapours that are feeding this fire at the moment.”
FRV deputy commissioner, Michelle Cowling, told the ABC the cause was likely a small leak related to a failure in some of the valves of some mechanical equipment. A significant plume of LNG ignited due to “several ignition sources” around the refinery area.
Due to the size of the tower and extreme heat, it had been difficult for firefighters to access the affected area, Cowling said.
The fire was extinguished shortly after midday on Thursday, according to FRV – about 13 hours after it first started. The production of diesel and petrol continues, however it has been reduced for safety reasons. Firefighters remain on scene and are monitoring the situation with Viva and partner agencies to ensure the safe operation of the site.
No current health or environment alerts
A watch and act alert, urging local residents to shelter indoors, was issued at 1am, but was later downgraded to an advice message on the VicEmergency website about 5.30am.
FRV’s Michelle Cowling said smoke had dissipated in the area, but people in the area were still being advised to keep their windows and doors closed as of midday Thursday.
Fire Rescue Victoria said it had confirmed no contaminants were being spread as a result of the blaze.
The Victorian health minister, Harriet Shing, said there were no known health risks or warnings from the refinery fire, and that updates would be provided through the VicEmergency app.
Shing confirmed that there were no reported injuries and all employees and emergency responders have been accounted for.
As of 2pm on Thursday, the Victorian Environmental Protection Authority was showing air quality in Corio and Geelong as good, with minimal impact on water quality, but residents are advised to avoid contact with Corio Bay out of an abundance of caution.
Fuel supply concerns
Scott Wyatt, the CEO of Viva Energy, which owns the refinery, said the refinery would eventually get to the highest level of production it can while recovery continues. He said the fire was in the petrol area of the plant, which means “naturally” petrol products would be affected.
Bill Patterson, executive general manager of Viva Energy, said on Thursday afternoon the affected area was part of the refinery responsible for combining LPG into gasoline-type molecules, which are later used in fuel blending and specialty products.
The federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, said petrol, diesel and jet fuel continued to be produced at the refinery at reduced levels as a safety precaution. But he said petrol production “may be impacted for some time”.
Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday afternoon Viva Energy had secured two new shipments of diesel, a total of 100m litres, with assistance of the federal government’s program to underwrite fuel purchases.
The Victorian energy minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, has told ABC Radio Melbourne the government has been assured by Viva Energy that there is “no immediate impact on fuel supply”.
The Corio refinery supplies about 50% of Victoria’s fuel, and 10% of Australia’s in total, according to the company’s website. The refinery can produce more than 120,000 barrels of oil per day, manufacturing petrol, diesel, jet fuel, LPG, avgas and low aromatic fuel.
The refinery is just one of two remaining in Australia, and employs more than 1,100 people. The other is Ampol’s Lytton refinery in Brisbane. Both rely on government support to stay open.
The ASX said trading in shares of Viva Energy, the company that owns the now-damaged Geelong refinery, have been suspended until the company makes an announcement to the market regarding the impact of the fire, or until trading resumes on Monday.
The Corio refinery represents one of Viva’s main physical assets. The company’s most recent financial results indicate that a five-year maintenance program on the refinery had recently been completed.
Gero Farruggio, an analyst at Rystad Energy, told the ABC he believed the government would need to move to stage 3 fuel restrictions as a result of the Corio refinery blaze, up from the current level 2 as of Thursday.
Joy Toose, climate campaign manager for Environment Victoria, blamed ageing infrastructure for the refinery blaze, saying it “gives another clear demonstration of why we need to accelerate the transition to renewable energy”.
