On 16 April 2026, an uncontrolled fire erupted at Viva Energy's Corio Bay oil refinery. 

This comes just two weeks after federal Environment Minister Murray Watt approved Viva's plans for an LNG import terminal in Corio Bay, despite strong community opposition.

The cause of the fire was confirmed to be a leak or valve malfunction, likely due to poor maintenance and is the latest in a string of failures at the facility. Since Viva took over operations in 2014, workers have been hospitalised after exposure to hydrochloric acid, oil has spilled from poorly maintained pipes, and loud explosions in gas lines have shaken residents in North Geelong. In 2021, a toxic spill from the refinery released a cocktail of chemicals into Corio Bay at many times the legal limit. Further afield, Viva spilled heavy oil into Sydney Harbour, resulting in a 7 month clean-up.

The April 16th fire is further evidence of Viva’s poor environmental and safety track record and should be grounds for a review of their recent approval for expanding their operations by building a floating gas import terminal. 

The Viva Energy terminal, which supplies 50% of Victoria’s fuel, has now added to Victorians’ pain during a cost-of-living crisis, which has been exacerbated by war in the Middle East. Now is not the time to be approving further unstable fuel supplies and enlarging the fortunes of careless operators. Now is the time to invest in helping Victorians get off gas through fast and fair electrification to provide stability to our energy market. The fossil fuel supply chain is inherently dangerous, unstable and expensive.

What happens when the next fire burns on the proposed floating terminal, isolated from emergency services?

What happens when the next undetected spill poisons a Ramsar listed wetland?

What happens to the community when the next chemical catastrophe renders their coastline toxic, or the next inferno poisons their air?

Viva Energy have demonstrated themselves to be incapable of caring for the environment, their workers and the community. We call upon our political representatives to suspend federal approval of Viva’s proposed LNG terminal and demand an official review in light of this recent incident.