Viva Energy fire tipped to have larger impact on Avgas than jet fuel

Viva’s Geelong plant is one of two refineries remaining operational in Australia, the other being Ampol’s facility in Brisbane.

“We anticipate that the impacts will be predominantly to the production of gasoline and aviation gasoline, however, the damage needs to be assessed and understood,” Viva said in a statement.

“There is no immediate impact to fuel supply, and the Company expects to replace any lost production through its fuel import program.”

Virgin Australia sources jet fuel from a number of refineries and has been in contact with Viva regarding the potential impact, while Qantas is understood to source very little of its fuel from the Geelong plant.

Speaking to media on Thursday morning, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the plant remains operational, but output has been affected.

“Production of jet fuel and diesel is continuing at the refinery at reduced levels for safety reasons, as a precaution. At this point, the impact is mainly on petrol production, but obviously, this is very early days. We’re working closely with the company and we’ll get further information,” he said.

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“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. Our advice remains to people to buy as much fuel as you need, no more, no less.

“We’ll manage this. We are making good progress internationally and we’ll work closely with Viva. We’ll continue to work closely with Ampol, the other refinery, and manage supply.”

Both Qantas and Virgin have increased airfares due to higher fuel costs after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which sees around 20 per cent of global oil traffic. The major carriers have also cut capacity on domestic services.