A major fire at Viva Energy's oil refinery in Corio, a suburb of Geelong in the southeastern state of Victoria, has raised fresh concerns about Australia's already strained fuel supply, with experts warning of price spikes of up to 20 cents per litre for motorists in the state. The blaze, believed to have been triggered by an equipment failure, broke out late on Wednesday and burned for approximately 13 hours before firefighters brought it under control. No injuries were reported. The full extent of the damage to the facility remains unknown, and Viva Energy's shares were placed in a trading halt on the Australian sharemarket pending a company assessment.

The Geelong refinery is one of only two operating in Australia — the other being Ampol's facility in Brisbane — and together they supply roughly one-third of the country's petrol needs. The Corio plant can process up to 120,000 barrels of crude oil per day and provides more than 50% of Victoria's fuel supply, as well as approximately 10% of national demand. The fire struck the plant's primary petrol-production units, in an area of around 30 by 30 metres, forcing output across petrol, diesel and jet fuel to be scaled back to minimum levels as a safety precaution. Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed that some production continued at reduced rates, describing the situation as