Blaze Engulfs 1 of Australia’s Last 2 Oil Refineries Amid Fuel Supply Chain Concerns

A massive fire has erupted in one of Australia’s two remaining oil refineries—Geelong’s Viva Energy plant—which broke out just before midnight on April 15.

Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj said the blaze had subsided but expected the burning to continue throughout the day.

“At its peak you weren’t able to get too close to it because of the intensity of the fire, but it’s certainly more manageable now than it was (in the early hours of the morning),” he told ABC Radio National on April 16.

Kontelj pointed to the precarious position of Australia’s fuel needs, which is 90 percent imported from overseas suppliers, and the rest coming from the only two refineries left in the country alongside Brisbane’s Lytton Oil Refinery.

Fuel supply chains have come under scrutiny amid the Iran War, which has seen refined fuel imports skyrocket in price to about $3.00 per litre. In 2000, Australia had eight refineries that provided the nation’s needs, but most have been closed down in favour of importing cheaper alternatives from Singapore, South Korea, and China.

“I think this is now a national event,” said Mayor Kontelj. “It shows that we have a very fragile, very thin energy security platform when it comes to refinery, only the two refineries left—and as mayor I’ve been calling this out since being elected back in 2024—that Viva is not only a significant employer and corporate citizen for Geelong, but it has a significance for Victoria and Australia and it just shows that as a country we need to invest more.”

Footage of the Corio oil refinery on fire in Geelong, Victoria (Australia).

Substantial flames billowing into the sky.

Corio supplies ~120k barrels per day of fuel and refined products, equivalent to over 10% of Australia’s daily consumption.

Source: Geelong Community FB pic.twitter.com/Dr8wfOCMBJ

— Tarric Brooker aka Avid Commentator 🇦🇺 (@AvidCommentator) April 15, 2026

The Geelong facility supplies around 50 percent of Victoria’s fuel, 10 percent nationally, and also produces jet fuel. It outputs around 120,000 barrels of fuel every day.

“It’s a very cross-functional refinery, it produces a significant amount of the state’s jet fuel as well, so the timing of this is never great but at the moment it couldn’t come at a worse time given the energy crisis we’re already suffering,” Kontelj said.

Eyewitnesses at the scene reported seeing an orange glow around the refinery amid the blaze with at least nine firefighting crews turning up just before midnight.

Locals also reported hearing explosions.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said petrol production had been affected with jet fuel and diesel levels expected to drop.

“At this point, the impact is mainly on petrol production, but obviously this is very early days,” Bowen told Nine’s Today program.

The extent of the damage is not yet clear, he added, saying 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.”

Last month, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan told her followers on social media that the refinery had been operating at full capacity to try alleviate the current crisis.

Fire Rescue Victoria chief fire officer Michael McGuinness told media there had been “some sort of leak” behind the fire.

“There’s hydrocarbons, flammable liquids which very readily caught fire,” he said.

The Epoch Times contacted Victoria Police to ask if the fire was being treated as suspicious. Police directed queries to Fire Rescue Victoria, who The Epoch Times has also contacted.

The Epoch Times also contacted Viva Energy for comment.