A major fire at Viva Energy's Corio oil refinery in Geelong, Victoria, burned for 13 hours before being extinguished early Thursday morning. The blaze, which broke out just after 11pm on Wednesday, was contained to the Mogas section where motor gasoline is produced. Fire Rescue Victoria said the cause appeared to be equipment failure, likely a leak or valve malfunction. No injuries were reported.
The refinery supplies around half of Victoria's fuel and 10 per cent of Australia's total, processing about 120,000 barrels of oil per day. Viva Energy chief executive Scott Wyatt confirmed that petrol production had been affected and would not resume until it was safe. Federal energy minister Chris Bowen said diesel and jet fuel production were continuing at reduced levels, but petrol production 'may be impacted for some time'.
Experts warned the fire adds pressure to an already strained fuel supply system. In recent weeks, over 500 service stations reported dry tanks due to panic buying and distribution issues. Professor Hussein Dia of Swinburne University said the disruption narrows the buffer to absorb shocks, though it does not mean an immediate fuel shortage. Professor Sajid Anwar noted that combined with the cancellation of six oil tankers for April delivery, the fire represents a critical stress test for Australia's energy resilience.
Residents near the site were advised to shelter indoors during the blaze, with a watch-and-act alert issued before being downgraded by 5.30am. Hazardous materials teams detected no contaminants in air or water testing. Air Quality Collective director Guy Coulson said pollutants from the fire were comparable to standing near a busy road, with vulnerable groups advised to take precautions.
Victoria's premier Jacinta Allan said it was too soon to know the full impact, while state energy minister Lily D'Ambrosio said there would be no immediate impact on fuel supply, noting petrol is the easiest fuel type to source globally. Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj described the fire as unprecedented in scale. The Corio facility, built in the 1950s, is one of only two oil refineries left in Australia.
