Fire at Australian refinery fuels petrol shortage fears amid global oil crisis
The Geelong plant is one of only two operating oil refineries in Australia and supplies 10 per cent of the country’s total demand
Firefighters were battling flames as tall as 60 metres (200 feet) at Viva Energy’s motor petrol production unit at its Geelong refinery in Victoria state, which processes crude into high-octane petrol. No injuries have been reported from the fire, which emergency crews were alerted to at about 11pm on Wednesday.
“The fire is not yet under control. So, there’s still some way to go. This is not a positive development, but obviously there’s a long way to go in terms of working out just what the impact is,” Australia’s Energy Minister Chris Bowen told Channel Nine.
Fire at Australian refinery fuels petrol shortage fears
“At this point, production of jet fuel and diesel is continuing at the refinery at reduced levels for safety reasons, as a precaution … the impact is mainly on petrol production, but obviously, this is very early days,” Bowen said.