{"id":609973,"date":"2026-04-16T04:43:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/609973\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T04:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:43:16","slug":"viva-energy-refinery-blaze-impacts-petrol-production-sends-toxic-smoke-over-corio-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/609973\/","title":{"rendered":"Viva Energy refinery blaze impacts petrol production, sends toxic smoke over Corio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated April 16, 2026 \u2014 10:19am,first published April 16, 2026 \u2014 3:55am<\/p>\n

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Key pointsAn out-of-control fire and a series of explosions broke out at Viva Energy\u2019s oil refinery in Corio overnight as a result of what Fire Rescue Victoria said was an equipment failure.The refinery, in Geelong\u2019s north, is one of two in Australia and can process up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day.Production of petrol, diesel and jet fuel has been temporarily slashed, adding to concerns about Australia\u2019s fuel supplies amid the ongoing energy crisis.Workers were forced to flee from \u201ca bloody big fireball\u201d when the fire erupted. No injuries were reported.The fire\u2019s intensity has reduced but is estimated to burn for the remainder of the morning.<\/p>\n

A major fire has damaged the Geelong oil refinery that is one of only two in Australia, adding pressure to the country\u2019s fuel stocks, which are already under strain due to the war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Fire Rescue Victoria said an equipment failure caused the blaze at the Viva Energy refinery in Corio that broke out just after 11pm on Wednesday, triggering explosions and sending a cloud of smoke towards Geelong.<\/p>\n

The fire continued to out of control on Thursday morning, severely damaging the facility that supplies 50 per cent of Victoria\u2019s fuel and 10 per cent of Australia\u2019s fuel.<\/p>\n

Viva Energy chief executive Scott Wyatt said the fire damaged two of the refinery\u2019s gasoline production units.<\/p>\n

The company ramped up production recently after Donald Trump\u2019s war against Iran led to the Islamic Republic closing the Strait of Hormuz, sparking global fears of fuel shortages.<\/p>\n

But the Geelong refinery has now temporarily cut its output of petrol, diesel and jet fuel down to \u201cminimum rates\u201d following the major fire damage.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Fire Rescue Victoria said on Thursday afternoon that the blaze began in some piping at the refinery, where there was a mechanical failure.<\/p>\n

About 100 people \u2013 50 FRV firefighters and 50 from Viva\u2019s workforce \u2013 tackled the blaze across 13 hours, extinguishing it just after midday and keeping the damage footprint to 50 square metres.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey contained this fire really, really quickly to a small part of the refinery,\u201d FRV deputy commissioner Michelle Cowling told reporters at the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cA fantastic job was done, no firefighters were injured or impacted by the firefight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FRVFRV deputy commissioner Michelle Cowling on Thursday afternoon.Paul Jeffers<\/p>\n

Cowling said the blaze would have been worse had it started around one of the plant\u2019s fuel storage tanks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could have been a catastrophic fire,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cowling said authorities assumed some infrastructure had been damaged, but exactly how much or where remained unknown.<\/p>\n

Firefighters will remain at the scene on Thursday afternoon to check for any remaining risks. Police, WorkSafe and Viva are also at the site to investigate.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Earlier, FRV assistant chief fire officer Mick McGuinness described the blaze as \u201cquite ferocious\u201d and said it started in the plant\u2019s Mogas section.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a significant leak of liquid hydrocarbons and gases that have fuelled the fire,\u201d McGuinness told reporters just after 8am.<\/p>\n

FRV\u2019s boat in Corio Bay also helped fight the blaze, which was declared extinguished in an updated VicEmergency alert at 12.11pm.<\/p>\n

Geelong refinery manager Bill Patterson said the affected units converted LPG into gasoline.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat gasoline component is used for a number of purposes, including in the blending of normal, regular gasoline that you buy from your service stations, but also in some specialty products, like low aromatic gasoline that\u2019s provided to remote communities around the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also an ingredient in aviation gasoline, which shouldn\u2019t be confused with jet fuel. Jet fuel is what the large airliners run on, and that\u2019s not impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patterson said the refinery had pushed back some maintenance as the Middle East conflict raised fuel supply concerns, but stressed the works had nothing to do with where the recent fire started.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly, there was some sort of failure or issue last night,\u201d he said, \u201cbut exactly as to what the reasons are will be subject to very thorough investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GeneralGeneral manager of Viva\u2019s Geelong refinery Bill Patterson (centre) and Viva CEO Scott Wyatt (to his right) on Thursday morning.Paul Jeffers<\/p>\n

Patterson added: \u201cWe\u2019re still running at pretty decent rates at the moment, given that these units are relatively small in the scheme of things, but they are important units for the longer term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed the fire would impact petrol production at the refinery, which can process up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day, equating to about 380,000 tanks of fuel.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, production of jet fuel and diesel is continuing at the refinery at reduced levels for safety reasons as a precaution,\u201d Bowen told Nine\u2019s Today.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, the impact is mainly on petrol production, but obviously, this is very early days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Viva Energy entered a trading halt on the Australian sharemarket on Thursday morning pending an announcement about the fire\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n

Energy analysts are warning the hit to the refinery marks a deterioration of the national fuel security situation.<\/p>\n

Global research firm Rystad Energy said the fire raised the likelihood of the government moving to the next stage of its fuel-saving strategy, including directing fuel to priority areas, promoting voluntary measures like car-pooling or working from home, and further releases from strategic reserves.<\/p>\n

Australia is currently at the second stage, which has included releasing some stockpiled fuel to deal with panic buying and helping importers to buy more fuel.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe fire at the Corio refinery overnight.Jessika Louise Wicks\/FRV Geelong<\/p>\n

Dozens of workers were at the Viva plant when the fire started late on Wednesday, and union representatives are relieved it didn\u2019t happen at a busier time of the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been told there were about 30 people on the site, most of them operators,\u201d said Tony Hynds, an organiser with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the first explosion happened, they had to take off and get out of there pretty quickly. I\u2019ve been told there was a small explosion and then two large ones, and then a large fireball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australian Workers Union secretary Ronnie Hayden, who was on the scene on Thursday morning, described the scene as like a \u201cwar zone\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome [workers] were pretty close to it, but they managed to run to get away from it,\u201d he said. \u201cThey said it was like \u2018a big bloody fireball coming straight for us\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Viva Energy\u2019s plant in Geelong has been underwritten by significant government support to secure Australia\u2019s two remaining refineries.<\/p>\n

The federal government in March boosted its Fuel Security Services Payment, which kicks in during loss-making periods.<\/p>\n

Viva has said the scheme, introduced in 2021, allowed it to spend $500 million upgrading the Geelong refinery.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Bowen said the facility would \u201ctake some time to repair\u201d, and production had been reduced<\/a> as a precaution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a positive development, but obviously, there\u2019s a long way to go in terms of working out just what the impact is. Our advice remains to people: buy as much fuel as you need, no more, no less,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At a midday press conference, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan similarly said it was too soon to assess the damage and warned against \u201cunfounded speculation\u201d about further fuel saving measures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that this comes at a really challenging time for fuel supplies around the nation and around the world as a result of Donald Trump\u2019s war in Iran,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Motorists who re-fuelled at two service stations near Viva\u2019s plant on Thursday morning weren\u2019t looking forward to the prospect of higher fuel prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t really think about it,\u201d carpenter Alan Spierings said. \u201cI might have to buy a horse and cart!\u201d<\/p>\n

State Energy Minister Lily D\u2019Ambrosio told ABC Radio there was no immediate impact on fuel supply due to Viva\u2019s increased fuel orders.<\/p>\n

She would not be drawn when asked if the fire would have any long-term effect on supplies.<\/p>\n

\"AlanAlan Spierings says he will have to make sacrifices due to the rising fuel prices.Paul Jeffers<\/p>\n

McGuinness, FRV\u2019s assistant chief fire officer, said some flames were up to 60 metres in height.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fire went from a small fire through several explosions to being quite a large, intense fire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One resident near the Viva plant in Corio \u2013 who didn\u2019t want to be identified \u2013 woke up to their house rattling and an ominous red glow on the horizon around 1am.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in bed, and I was wondering why everything was rattling and shaking,\u201d they said. \u201cThe whole backyard was lit up red.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe fire at the Viva oil refinery in Geelong.Geelong TV<\/p>\n

A warning was issued for dozens of suburbs just after 2am, when a wind change blew smoke from the blaze towards Geelong.<\/p>\n

Thousands of residents were told to close their doors and windows, and turn off their heating and cooling systems.<\/p>\n

The warning area was downgraded shortly before 5.30am and contained to the suburbs of Corio, Norlane and North Shore, which directly surround the fire.<\/p>\n

McGuiness said the elevated warning was precautionary.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOur specialist hazmat technicians were able to determine there were no contaminants whatsoever \u2013 not only in the firefighting water, but also in the smoke that was being emitted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Bowen said Australia\u2019s fuel reserves stood at 38 days of petrol, 28 days of jet fuel and 31 days of diesel.<\/p>\n

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\"NickNick Toscano<\/a> is a business reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"PatrickPatrick Hatch<\/a> is transport reporter at The Age and a former business reporter.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"MelissaMelissa Cunningham<\/a> is a health reporter for The Age. She has previously covered crime and justice.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated April 16, 2026 \u2014 10:19am,first published April 16, 2026 \u2014 3:55am Save You have reached your maximum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-609973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}