A massive fire has erupted at Australia's largest oil refinery, operated by Viva Energy in Geelong. The blaze began on Wednesday night, with flames reaching up to 60 meters high, and was only brought under control by Thursday morning. This facility is one of only two operational oil refineries in the country, producing approximately 10% of Australia's fuel supply.
The fire comes at a critical juncture for Australia, which relies on imports for 80% of its fuel needs and is scrambling to offset supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict, which has driven up global energy prices. Energy finance analyst Kevin Morrison highlighted that the wider Asia-Pacific region is facing fuel security challenges, and Australia lacks substantial stockpiles. He stated, "This key area of supply being knocked out for an unknown period is quite an issue."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, currently visiting Malaysia, announced on Thursday that Australia had secured an additional supply of around 100 million liters of diesel from Brunei and South Korea. He told a news conference, "This is the first of many expected shipments secured under the government's new strategic reserve powers." Energy Minister Chris Bowen earlier noted that the fire damaged a section of the refinery responsible for high-octane petrol production, but other parts producing jet fuel and diesel were largely spared.
Incident controller Mark McGuinness reported that a "significant leak" of highly flammable gases and liquid hydrocarbons triggered the inferno. He told reporters, "It was quite ferocious. It went from a small fire through several explosions to a large, intense fire." Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt described it as a "very challenging incident," emphasizing that production is not the priority, but rather ensuring site safety.
According to government figures, Australia holds only about 38 days' worth of petrol in reserve, far below the 90-day minimum mandated by the International Energy Agency. While the government has so far resisted fuel rationing measures, it has urged drivers to conserve petrol and use public transport where possible. Like many nations in Asia and the South Pacific, Australia is heavily dependent on oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, which previously carried one-fifth of the world's oil and gas, but maritime traffic through this vital waterway has essentially halted since the US and Israeli regimes launched their war against Iran.
Source: www.aljazeera.com