The fire-damaged Geelong refinery is nearing full-capacity jet fuel and diesel production sooner than anticipated, clawing back the majority of its output in less than 48 hours after a blaze forced major production cuts.
The blaze, sparked by a late-night equipment fault on Wednesday, forced one of Australia’s only two remaining oil refineries to drop to minimum production levels, deepening worries about Australia’s ability to withstand global supply pressures caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East.
However, the refinery’s owner, Viva Energy, said the plant had staged a rapid recovery, managing to claw back the vast majority of its production capacity within 48 hours of the incident.
While the blaze dealt a specific blow to the refinery’s petrol-producing units, its petrol production has already ramped back up to 60 per cent capacity. Diesel and jet fuel production units, which were unaffected by the fire, have rebounded to 80 per cent and are expected to hit full volumes within weeks.
In total, the refinery, which can process up to 120,000 barrels of oil a day into millions of litres of fuel daily, has returned to 80 per cent capacity.
“A lot of units are unaffected and are still in production. That’s why we are still able to maintain 80 per cent of fuel supply from this plant,” said Viva chief executive Scott Wyatt. “As we make [the site] safe and restore further production, we hope to be able to lift that further.”
Viva Energy is one of Australia’s biggest fuel companies, typically supplying up to 30 per cent of the nation’s petrol, diesel and jet fuel from its Geelong refinery and its far-flung network of import terminals across the coastline. Wyatt said any drop-off in refinery output from Geelong could be bridged by increasing imports from overseas suppliers.
“I think there will be no impact to what we supply into the Victorian market as a result of this incident,” he said.
The recovery comes at a sensitive time for energy security in Australia and around the world. Global oil and fuel supplies are under significant strain due to the ongoing conflict in Iran, which has blocked oil shipments out of the Middle East and heightened sensitivities around Australia’s limited capacity to produce its own fuel, following a wave of refinery closures over the past decade. The nation currently relies on imports for more than 80 per cent of its fuel needs.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who flew home early from Malaysia on Thursday night to visit the refinery, said the fire was “regrettable, particularly given the timing in which it had occurred”.
“The Middle East conflict is having a direct impact on our region … and the entire global economy,” Albanese said. “Our job is to do as best we can to restrict the impact that this will have, and that is precisely what we are doing every day.”
However, Albanese praised the response to the emergency from Viva Energy and its ongoing supply assurances. He dismissed warnings from some energy analysts that refinery fire increased the risk of the government having to move to the next stage of its fuel-saving strategy, which may include directing fuel to priority areas, promoting voluntary measures such as car-pooling or working from home, and further releases from strategic reserves.
“The event here will not lead to any change,” Albanese said.
The longer the conflict in the Middle East continues, the greater the risk will be of a fuel crunch reaching Australia, especially if Asian refiners that supply the bulk of Australia’s imports start running lower on crude oil and begin scaling back output. However, the federal government and fuel industry are increasingly confident that supplies remain stable. Importers have been diversifying supply chains to secure fuel from other parts of the world, while the Albanese government is holding bilateral talks with Asian neighbours to shore up future deliveries.
Malcolm Roberts, chief executive of the Australian Institute of Petroleum, which represents Ampol, BP, Mobil and Viva Energy, said the fuel industry and the government were “doing a good job at maintaining supply into the country”.
He said Viva Energy was particularly well-placed to boost imports as needed, given it could draw on its partnership with trading partner Vitol, one of the world’s biggest oil traders.
“They have been shoring up their own supply chain into the country,” Roberts said.
Viva Energy is expected to release a timeline for repairs and further production increases in a market update on Monday.
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Nick Toscano is a business reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Mike Foley is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.