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Mar 22, 2023

Australia's Viva Energy faces contractor crane failure at Geelong refinery

June 7 (Reuters) - Australia's Viva Energy (VEA.AX) said on Wednesday that a

June 7 (Reuters) - Australia's Viva Energy (VEA.AX) said on Wednesday that a failure of contractor crane at its flagship Geelong refinery in Victoria led to a compressor being dropped to the ground on Tuesday afternoon.

The oil refiner had previously said that it would undertake a planned maintenance work at the Geelong refinery which was expected to be completed by June end. The compressor was being installed as a part of this maintenance work.

The extent of the damage to the compressor is yet to be determined and it is currently anticipated that repairs will take about three months to complete, the company said in a statement.

As a result, the Melbourne-based firm expects a refining earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization loss between A$25 million and A$35 million ($16.69 million and$23.37 million) per month during the period of repair due to production and margin impacts but it does not expect supply to the market being disrupted.

Viva Energy also said that no one was injured due to the site being subjected to an exclusion zone at that time.

($1 = 1.4979 Australian dollars)

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