Major fire at Geelong oil refinery reduces fuel production but no rationing planned

A major fire broke out at the Viva Energy Corio refinery near Geelong, Australia, burning for 13 hours from just before midnight on April 15 until noon the following day.

The fire significantly reduced production of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel at one of Australia's two remaining oil refineries.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed petrol production fell by 40%, with diesel and aviation fuel production continuing at about 80% capacity.

Despite the disruption, Albanese ruled out imposing stage 3 fuel restrictions or rationing under the national fuel security plan.

He noted that 60% of petrol production was ongoing and expected to increase in the coming period.

The refinery typically supplies about half of Victoria's fuel and around 10% of the nation's fuel needs.

The incident comes amid a global oil supply crunch linked to the ongoing conflict in Iran, which has already strained fuel availability and prices in Australia.

The government has acted to mitigate the impact by securing an additional 100 million litres of diesel from Brunei and South Korea.

Albanese returned early from a diplomatic trip to Southeast Asia to visit the affected facility and assess the situation.

Wholesale petrol and diesel prices fell following the fire, with no immediate spike in pump prices observed.

Fire Rescue Victoria responded to multiple emergency calls reporting explosions and flames at the Corio suburb refinery.

The fire was caused by equipment failure, though a timeline for full production recovery has not been provided.

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