Viva Energy

Lightning storm causes power outage at Viva Energy refinery

Viva Energy’s Geelong Refinery has been struck by a power outage during a lightning storm, which could take weeks to repair.

On 12 January 2025, a lightning storm caused an external interruption in the power supply, which caused an unscheduled shutdown across all units.

Viva Energy stated that the timeframe to resume normal production is expected to be between one and two weeks and that supply to the market should not be disrupted due to the incident.

The company’s Geelong refinery supplies over 50 per cent of Victoria’s fuel and 10 per cent of fuel nationwide.

Viva Energy Upgrades

Late last year, Viva announced it would be undertaking a $350 million upgrade to its refinery, marking the facility’s largest transformation in decades.

Featuring a new ultra-low sulphur gasoline (ULSG) plant, it paves the way for the production of petrol with a sulphur content of less than 10 parts per million, the cleanest ever made in the country.

The upgrade aligns Australia’s fuel quality with international standards, enabling the import of more fuel-efficient vehicles and delivering significant environmental, health, and economic benefits.

Supported by a $125 million contribution from the Australian Government under the Fuel Security Package, the ULSG plant is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2025, just ahead of new national fuel quality standards coming into effect on 15 December 2025.

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