A fire at Australia’s largest oil refinery won’t trigger fuel restrictions, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday. But the timing couldn’t be worse for a country that imports 80% of its fuel and is already scrambling to secure supply amid the war on Iran.
The blaze hit Viva Energy’s refinery in Geelong, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne. It broke out on Wednesday night and took roughly 12 hours to bring under control. Two petrol processing units were damaged.
The 120,000 barrel-per-day facility is now operating at reduced rates. It’s producing about 60% of its normal petrol output and 80% of diesel and aviation fuel. The refinery supplies more than half the fuel used in Victoria — Australia’s second-most populous state — and around a tenth of national demand.
Albanese visited the site and met with company officials. He made clear that the fire wouldn’t force any shift in the government’s four-stage fuel security plan.
“The government has put in place the four stages in order to plan and prepare for circumstances which are predominantly impacted by global events, not by events here,” he said.
Australia is currently at stage two of that plan. At this level, motorists are urged to buy only the fuel they need while the government takes precautionary steps to boost supply.
Refinery investigation underway
Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt said work remains to safely restore the damaged units and return to full production. He noted that the 72-year-old refinery went through major maintenance last year.
Wyatt also pushed back against any suggestion that the company had been pushing the facility beyond its limits. He said Viva had not attempted to raise capacity beyond safe operating thresholds. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
Albanese secures new fuel deals across Southeast Asia
The refinery fire landed in the middle of an intense diplomatic push by Albanese to lock in fuel supplies from regional allies.
He returned early from Malaysia overnight after meeting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The two leaders secured a deal with state energy firm Petronas to supply excess fuel to Australia.
Malaysia was Albanese’s third Southeast Asian stop in the past week. He also visited Singapore and Brunei as Canberra works to strengthen both food and energy supply chains.
Additionally, Albanese announced that BP has agreed to join a government-backed scheme under which Australia’s export credit agency underwrites spot market fuel purchases to secure extra supply.
With global energy markets still volatile from the Iran conflict, Australia is leaving little to chance — even as its largest refinery operates well below full capacity.