Caltex advises there has been an incident at its Lytton refinery this afternoon which resulted in the shutdown of the refinery.

All personnel are safe, there have been no injuries and non-essential personnel have been moved out of the immediate vicinity of the plant.

Emergency services attended the incident but were not required.

The incident was caused by a loss of steam to the refinery, which required Caltex to shut it down. This unplanned shutdown created black smoke that was visible from surrounding areas.

The impact of the incident on the refinery and on fuel supply will be assessed as soon as possible.

Prior to the incident, supply of diesel from the Caltex Lytton terminal was at 50 per cent of the normal level due to problems with the diesel hydrotreating unit. Arrangements were already in place to provide additional diesel supplies to customers and ensure emergency service and other priority government vehicles were being supplied. The impact of this incident of petrol and diesel supplies will be assessed.

Media inquiries:

Frank Topham
Manager Government Affairs & Media
0411 406 379
ftopham@caltex.com.au