GEELONG — A fire broke out at the Viva Energy refinery in Geelong, Victoria, on Wednesday night after a gas leak ignited at the 120,000 barrels-per-day facility. Victoria state fire authorities said the blaze had been brought under control by noon on Thursday, which was 02:00 GMT.

Flames as high as 60 metres erupted at the plant, and images taken on Thursday morning showed thick clouds of smoke billowing over the industrial complex. Incident Controller Mark McGuinness said a significant leak of highly flammable gases and liquid hydrocarbons had triggered the fire. "It was quite ferocious. It went from a small fire through several explosions to a large, intense fire." McGuinness said.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the fire ripped through a section of the refinery responsible for producing high-octane petrol. Isolation valves were triggered, sparing parts of the plant producing jet fuel and diesel the worst of the blaze. "It's important that people buy as much fuel as they need, but no more, no less." Bowen said.

The Geelong refinery is one of only two working oil refineries in Australia and produces about 10 percent of the country's fuel. Australia depends on imports for 80 percent of its fuel needs, and the country holds roughly 38 days of petrol in reserve, below the 90-day minimum set by the International Energy Agency.

Australia has secured an additional supply of about 100 million litres of diesel from Brunei and South Korea. "This is the first of many expected shipments secured under the government's new strategic reserve powers." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. The government has resisted moves to ration fuel but has urged drivers to conserve petrol where they can and to favour public transport if possible.

Australia is heavily reliant on oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, which at one point carried one-fifth of the world's oil and gas. Shipping traffic through the strait has essentially ceased since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on Feb. 28, disrupting global oil supply and driving up energy prices worldwide. Australia has been working to replace supply disrupted by the Middle East conflict.

The Geelong plant began operating in the 1950s and had been running at maximum capacity because of the ongoing global oil crisis.