Crane failure at Australian refinery

Australia-based Viva Energy said that the failure of a contractor crane at its flagship Geelong refinery in Victoria led to a compressor being dropped to the ground.

No one was injured during the incident. (Photo: Reuters/ Sonali Paul)

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 the end of June.

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.

Cost of damage

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.

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