Viva Energy Australia celebrates one year anniversary

Viva Energy Australia celebrated its one year anniversary on August 14, with the announcement that it is investing AUD 1 billion (USD 735 million) over the next five years in its refining, supply chain and service station businesses. Scott Wyatt, CEO of Viva Energy Australia, said about a third of the earmarked amount will be spent upgrading the Geelong refinery. Another third is being invested in the supply chain and the rest on its marketing business, including acquisitions of existing sites and new retail outlets.

“The transition from Shell to Viva Energy has been a very exciting time for us,” said Wyatt. “Although our name is only 12 months old, our operations and experience date back more than 110 years and we know what it takes to build trust and meet your diverse energy needs. We are continuing to invest in our business, and have already made significant steps over the last year,” he said.

Wyatt said that Viva Energy is about to commence the first of two major processing unit turnarounds at its Geelong refinery, which it bought from Shell, and have deployed projects to improve distribution of fuels from Geelong to customers in Victoria by more than 25%.

“We are also assessing the construction of a new crude storage tank, and over the next three years expect to spend around AUD 300 million (USD 220 million) to help secure a future for manufacturing in Australia and more than 750 local jobs.”

Viva Energy operates more than 20 import terminals and depots around Australia. Wyatt said Viva Energy is spending more than AUD 150 million (USD 110 million) to upgrade its fuel terminal in Sydney. The company also plans to further improve infrastructure at other locations to meet growing customer demands. “The construction of a new bulk lubricant import terminal in Brisbane is a good example of this,” he added.

The growth within Victoria requires a AUD 25 million (USD 18.3 million) upgrade of a pipeline to Melbourne, while a proposed AUD 40-50 million (USD 29.4-36.7 million) investment would almost double oil storage capacity to improve efficiency of crude sourcing.

Over the next few years, Viva Energy plans to upgrade and significantly expand its network of more than 860 Shell-branded service stations in Australia. “This journey has already begun, with 19 new sites opened this year and the upgrade of our Shell Card online management system and application process,” Wyatt said.

Wyatt headed Shell’s downstream business in Australia before Shell sold its Australian business to Viva Energy for USD 2.9 billion (USD 2.1 billion).