Viva Energy expects production at its Geelong oil refinery to bounce back quickly after the facility overcame a fire last week.
Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) was called to the refinery at 11:15pm on Wednesday after a fire broke out in the alkylation section of the gasoline complex. By Thursday morning, the fire had been fully extinguished, with no one injured in the incident.
While other major processing units such as the crude distillation units, and the reformer and residue catalytic cracking unit (RCCU) were unaffected, the RCCU is currently offline while operations are stabilised.
In the short-term, the oil refinery expects to be producing diesel and jet fuel at approximately 80 per cent of capacity and petrol at approximately 60 per cent. In a few weeks, the facility plans to restart the RCCU while lifting production of diesel, jet fuel and petrol to over 90 per cent of capacity.
With sufficient fuel stocks on hand, Viva Energy Australia said fuel supply to its customers would be uninterrupted moving forward.
The company is carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the incident, with the Geelong oil refinery remaining a “strategic asset” in its portfolio.
The facility is one of two large oil refineries still operating in Australia, with the Ampol Lytton refinery in Brisbane the other. The small-scale Eromanga plant in south-west Queensland can also process crude oil.
The importance of these facilities has been heightened as a worldwide fuel crisis occurs amidst the war in Iran, with Australia’s sovereign capability brought into question.
Since 2012, five refineries have closed nationwide, including facilities in Kwinana (WA), Altona (Victoria), Bulwer Island (Queensland), Kurnell and Clyde (both in NSW).
The Federal Government announced a four-stage National Fuel Security Plan in late March, detailing “how governments will work together to keep Australia open and the economy moving”.
Households have been encouraged to “only buy the fuel you need” as part of this and make voluntary choices to use less.
The Federal Government has been engaged in bilateral discussions with key trading partners to shore up supply. This includes Singapore, with which the two have established the Australia–Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 2.0 – a pledge to support each other’s energy security through the trade of refined petroleum from Singapore and liquefied natural gas from Australia.
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