MELBOURNE: Authorities said on Thursday that equipment failure caused a major fire at an Australian oil refinery that is expected to affect the national fuel supply.
The fire broke out at Viva Energy's refinery in the city of Geelong, 65 km southwest of Melbourne, around 11 p.m. local time on Wednesday and was continuing to burn on Thursday morning.
The facility is one of only two operational refineries in Australia and produces about 10 per cent of the national fuel supply.
Michelle Cowling, deputy commissioner of the fire and rescue service in the state of Victoria, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio that equipment failure in the refinery caused the fire.
"There'll be a thorough investigation into the failure of how this fire started, " she said.
Speaking earlier on Thursday, federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said that the fire would impact petrol production, but that there is "no reason" to believe it will affect the production of diesel or jet fuel.