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Some petrol stations may see short-term fuel outages as refinery output slows, but national supplies should not be affectedFull report: Geelong oil refinery fireGeelong oil refinery fire: what we know so farFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVictorian motorists are being warned to brace for a spike in petrol prices of up to 20c a litre due to a huge blaze at Viva Energy’s oil refinery in Geelong, but oil and supply chain experts say the effects should be short-lived.Viva’s Corio facility is one of two domestic refineries that reduce Australia’s heavy reliance on direct imports of ready-to-use oil products from Asia. Continue reading...

Follow the latest updates liveFull report: Geelong oil refinery fireGeelong oil refinery fire: what we know so farGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFire officer says officials haven’t detected any contaminants spreading from blazeEarlier this morning, Fire Rescue Victoria assistant chief fire officer, Mick McGuinness, provided an update to ABC Radio Melbourne. Shortly before 7am, he said about 50 firefighting vehicles were continuing to fight the blaze in the Mogas (motor gasoline) plant section of the refinery.This fire has been quite large overnight. It is still burning at the moment, and we would still declare it as not yet under control … And the fire is mainly being fed by various types of hydrocarbon fuels. So predominantly liquid petrol … and also some gas and vapours that are feeding this fire at the moment.We were concerned with the smoke that was coming off this fire, so our initial reactions were to get an alert message out to the community. We’ve since been able to have our specialist hazardous materials teams come in from locally Geelong and also in Melbourne and set up some atmospheric monitoring equipment and do a lot of sensing and sampling of not only the atmosphere but also the fire water runoff that we’re using to contain the fire. We’ve been able to determine … that we haven’t detected any sort of contaminants there.We’re predicting that this still could burn for another three or four hours, if not longer. But we are starting to see a reduction in the intensity of the fire, which is an indication that the depressurising of the systems and the pipe work is occurring and that we will see a lesser amount of fuel being available to feed the fire. And of course, that allows us to continue to cool that area more rapidly and then be able to get crews in there to look at how we can start to isolate pipe work and valve systems.It shows that we have very fragile, very thin energy security platform when it comes to refinery, only the two refineries left. And as mayor, I’ve been calling this out since being elected back in 2024, that Viva is not only a significant employer and corporate citizen for Geelong, but it has a significance for Victoria and Australia.And it just shows that we, as a country, need to invest more in this type of capability. Continue reading...

Wednesday’s strike brings the total of those killed in US military strikes on alleged drug boats to at least 177Three people were killed in a US strike on another alleged drug-trafficking boat, the fifth such deadly attack in as many days, military officials have announced.US southern command said it conducted “a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations” in the eastern Pacific, without naming the alleged group, in an X post. Continue reading...

Petrol production affected and full extent of damage unknown after ‘unprecedented’ fire at Viva refinery in CorioFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGeelong oil refinery fire: what we know so farGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn explosive fire at a Geelong oil refinery – which supplies half of Victoria’s fuel and 10% of the nation’s – has been extinguished, though petrol production continues to be affected and authorities warn the full extent of the damage is still unknown.The blaze at the Viva Energy facility in Corio – one of two refineries left in Australia – broke out just after 11pm Wednesday, with Fire Rescue Victoria alerted to the blaze by multiple calls to triple zero “reporting explosions and flames”. Continue reading...

In a spilling of the court’s divisions in public, Sotomayor had criticized Kavanaugh over a dissenting ruling on ICE raidsSonia Sotomayor, a US supreme court justice, issued an apology on Wednesday for her recent criticism of fellow justice Brett Kavanaugh, an unusual public mea culpa that underscores the continuing divisions within the nation’s top judicial body over its direction and actions in high-profile cases.Sotomayor had criticized Kavanaugh at an event in Kansas last week for an opinion he wrote in September concurring with the court’s decision backing roving immigration raids in California. Kavanaugh is one of the court’s six conservative justices, while Sotomayor is the senior member of the court’s three-justice liberal bloc. Continue reading...

Iran War: The blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil supply route, has sent fertilizer prices soaring since they rely on oil-based inputs.

Senator’s fourth attempt for resolutions fails, but votes show growing appetite among Democrats to impose limitsBernie Sanders on Wednesday led a failed effort to block the sale of bombs and bulldozers to Israel, but the votes revealed a growing appetite among Democrats to impose limits on US weapons transfers to a longtime US ally.It was the fourth time Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, had forced consideration of resolutions cutting off military aid for Israel in the Senate, all of which have been rejected by the chamber’s Republican majority, and many Democrats. Continue reading...

The satellite, known as TEE-01B, was developed and launched by the Chinese firm Earth Eye Co. before being taken over by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Aerospace Force.