Firefighters are battling a major fire at the Viva Energy Group refinery near Geelong in Victoria, one of Australia’s two operating oil refineries.
The blaze began just after 11 p.m. local time (1300 GMT/UTC) on Wednesday and involved liquid fuels and gases in the refinery’s motor gasoline unit. Fire Rescue Victoria said early Thursday the fire “is not yet under control although is currently contained to the plant.”
Authorities told people in Geelong and surrounding areas to stay indoors, close windows and doors, and turn off heating and cooling systems. Geelong, a port city of about 300,000 people roughly an hour’s drive from Melbourne, had no reported injuries and all refinery staff were accounted for. Ronnie Hayden told ABC about 100 staff were working at the time and all escaped unhurt.
The Country Fire Authority said on Thursday morning that the threat alert had been downgraded and that “the fire is still being fought by firefighters, but there is no threat to the public.” Geelong’s mayor, Stretch Kontelj, described the blaze as “unprecedented” and said it would burn for some hours.
Most units at the Corio refinery were still operating at minimum rates for safety, Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt told reporters. He said production would only be increased once it could be done safely. The Corio refinery supplies more than 50% of Victoria’s fuel and about 10% of Australia’s, with capacity to process up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day. Australia imports around 90% of its refined fuel needs, and the incident has raised fuel security concerns that have been present since disruptions in key shipping routes.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the fire would mainly affect petrol production, while jet fuel and diesel production were continuing at reduced levels as a precaution. The incident appears to be an accident and will be investigated.
Edited by: Sean Sinico