Australia Oil refinery currently on fire, breaking news16 Apr 2026 08:54
The Australian government has said a large fire at one of the country's two oil refineries will have an impact on production, according to our correspondent Nicole Johnston.
The site in Geelong, south west of Melbourne, supplies around half of Victoria's petrol and 10% of Australia's petrol and "you couldn't get worse timing".
It comes as drivers have been "panicking" at the pumps, especially during the first couple of weeks of the Iran war.
"They were filling up as many jerry cans as they could, filling up their cars to the max. Demand went through the roof."
Government officials said the fire has hit petrol production.
Australia depends on imports for 80% of its fuel needs and has been racing to replace supplies disrupted by the Middle East conflict, which has driven up energy prices worldwide.