Viva Energy petrol production running at 60% after refinery fire
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The news: Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery is producing diesel at 80% of capacity and petrol at 60% after a fire burned at the facility from late on Wednesday evening until midday on Thursday.
The numbers: The Geelong refinery is one of two oil refineries in Australia and ordinarily has the capacity to refine 120,000 barrels of crude oil. The facility usually supplies 10% of Australia’s total fuel requirements and more than 50% of Victoria’s fuel needs.
The context: Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt told journalists on Friday morning that it would still take time to secure the affected area before full production can be safely restored. He also reiterated that the reduced production capacity could be fully restored through Viva’s import program over the next few months.
On Thursday, Fire Rescue Victoria said the fire seemed to be caused by an equipment failure although an investigation will be undertaken by Fire Rescue, WorkSafe, Victoria Police and Viva Energy.
Viva Energy shares have been in a trading halt since Thursday morning.
The source: Viva Energy press conference
