On April 16, according to an official announcement from the Victoria Fire Rescue Force (FRV), the fire that broke out at the oil refinery in Geelong city at about 11 pm on April 15 was completely controlled.
FRV Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Michelle Cowling, said preliminary investigations showed that the incident originated from a malfunction in the mechanical valve system. This defect caused a large leak of liquefied petroleum gas (LNG), then contact with heat sources around the production area and led to violent explosions.
The oil refinery in Geelong is currently one of the last two domestic oil refineries still operating in Australia, contributing about 10% of the total national fuel production and more than 50% of the gasoline and oil demand for Victoria alone. 50 firefighters and 10 specialized vehicles extinguished the fire for 13 consecutive hours due to the extreme heat from liquid fuels.
Although the fire has been extinguished, technical units are still maintaining scene monitoring to ensure absolute safety for the recovery process.
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said that the fire occurred at an unfavorable time when the energy market was under pressure from fluctuations in the Middle East.
Mr. Bowen confirmed that while diesel and aviation fuel production remains stable, gasoline production here will be significantly affected in the near future.
The Australian government is closely coordinating with the Viva Energy operator to assess the level of production decline in order to provide timely response scenarios for national energy security.
On the business side, Viva Energy's shares have been suspended from trading on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) pending financial damage assessment. Although the factory has just completed a 5-year periodic maintenance program, this valve leak has raised concerns about the durability of existing energy infrastructure.
Victorian Health Minister Harriet Shing affirmed that no casualties were recorded and there were no signs of serious environmental pollution affecting the health of the surrounding community.
