Gas leak ignites Viva fuel plant, which produces about 10 percent of Australia’s fuel, in Geelong, Victoria.Columns of fire have engulfed the largest of Australia’s two oil refineries, just as the nation faces pressure to shore up fuel security with the Iran war disrupting global supply.Victoria State fire authorities said the blaze, which broke out at a 120,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Geelong run by Viva Energy on Wednesday night, had been brought “under control” at noon (02:00 GMT) on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listFlames as high as 60m (200 feet) erupted after a gas leak ignited at the plant, firefighters said. It is one of only two working oil refineries in Australia.The refinery, about an hour’s drive southwest of the state capital, Melbourne, pumps out about 10 percent of Australia’s fuel, according to energy company Viva.The fire came at a bad time for Australia as it depends on imports for 80 percent of its fuel needs and has been racing to replace supply disrupted by the Middle East conflict, which has driven up energy prices worldwide.Kevin Morrison, an energy finance analyst, said the wider Asia Pacific region has been facing a fuel security issue and Australia does not have major stockpiles.“This key area of supply being knocked out for a non-known period of time is quite an issue,” Morrison said, speaking to Al Jazeera from Sydney.He stressed that the plant is “a very old” one that started working in the 1950s and, because of the ongoi …
