Viva Energy to lift Geelong petroleum production

Sydney (23 June)

Australian refiner Viva Energy will run its Geelong refinery at 90% of its normal processing capacity from next week – following a late April fire – because of the restart of a production unit.

But the company will not fully restore Geelong’s production capacity until the end of 2027 because of damage to a gas-to-gasoline converter at the refinery, it told investors on 23 June.

Viva Energy has run Geelong at 80% of its jet fuel capacity and 60% of its petrol capacity since a fire on 15 April.

The company’s Residue Catalytic Cracking Unit (RCCU) at Geelong, which converts crude oil into refined petroleum products, has been offline since the incident. But it will come back online next week, it said. The RCCU restart will allow Viva Energy to convert a greater portion of intermediate products into refined oils, it added.

Viva Energy’s Geelong plant usually supplies Australia with about 10% of its refined fuel needs. It has also stored 90 million litres of diesel at the site since 2024 to support Australian fuel security.

The Australian Government partnered with Viva Energy to buy 100 million litres of fuel from Brunei and South Korea on 16 April. Under a month later, on 15 May, it helped Ampol, Viva Energy, and IOR secure 150 million litres of diesel to support customers in South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, and Victoria.

Australia has 44 days’ worth of petrol reserves, 39 days’ worth of diesel reserves, and 32 days’ worth of jet fuel reserves, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said on 20 June. Its petrol, diesel, and jet fuel reserves are at their second-highest level on record, but down on the week.

By Avinash Govind