00:02Australian authorities said on Thursday that the fire at the country's largest oil refinery
00:07has been contained, as investigations into the cause are expected to begin once it is
00:13safe to do so.
00:14State fire authorities said the blaze, which broke out at a 120,000 barrels per day refinery
00:20operated by Viva Energy on Wednesday night, was brought under control by noon Thursday.
00:26I just want to reaffirm Michelle's comments there, the crews from Viva firefighters in
00:31particular have done an amazing job.
00:34The initial application of the fixed firefighting equipment on site has definitely contained
00:38this fire to the original area and the work they've done to be able to isolate the fuel
00:43supply to the area affected has been amazing and I cannot understate how much the crews
00:49have done an amazing job.
00:51In the early stages of the fire it was very, very dangerous and there were explosions occurring
00:56so it was very important that we got a clear picture of what was occurring.
01:00The fire comes at a challenging time for Australia, which relies on imports for about 80% of its
01:06fuel needs and has been working to replace supply disrupted by the Middle East conflict.
01:11Viva Energy's refinery supplies more than half of the fuel in Victoria and about a tenth of
01:18Australia's total fuel demand.
01:20The company said it expects production of petrol and aviation gasoline to be affected,
01:25but it will meet fuel demand through imports.
01:28No injuries have been reported from the fire at the refinery, which is located about an hour's
01:33drive from Melbourne.
01:34The cause of the blaze and the extent of the damage remain unclear.
01:46the fire!
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