VIVA SAFETY SHOCK

WorkSafe visits Geelong oil giant once a week, issues 26 notices

VIVA Energy’s safety record is among the worst of all Victorian major hazard facilities and threatens its viability, a union argues.

The Corio refinery has been plagued by issues over the past year, which have not slowed down since workers led a week-long blockade last October.

The extent of the problems are revealed in exclusive documents obtained by the Geelong Advertiser, which uncover the extent of WorkSafe’s intervention into the company.

The detailed dossier shows WorkSafe inspectors visited Viva sites on 56 days — an average of more than once per week — during the 2016-17 financial year.

The regulator also issued 26 improvement notices, with several being slapped on Viva after it failed to notify WorkSafe of incidents.

Australian Workers’ Union Victorian secretary Ben Davis said the sheer quantity of WorkSafe’s inspections and legal directives was unmatched among Victoria’s 38 major hazard facilities. “None of them have had the repeated attention from WorkSafe in that period as Viva has,” he said.

“Viva’s safety culture is simply not up to scratch.”

The company, which supplies more than half of Victor- ia’s fuel, has to submit a safety case every five years to keep its licence to operate its refinery and LPG terminal at Lara.

Both of the licences expire by next May, leading to a detailed investigation into its systems and processes over the next few months.

“Any facility that fails to maintain appropriate safety standards will have its operating licence cancelled,” a WorkSafe spokesman said. Mr Davis expects the operating licence will be granted for a further five years but said it was a fait accompli. “I think Viva will have it renewed, but they would want to improve their safety to be confident of having it renewed,” he said.

Viva’s refining general manager, Thys Heyns, said the company was committed to the highest standards and was striving for Goal Zero — which is no harm to people or the en- vironment. “We are proud of our commitment and performance and have invested more than $300 million to improve and maintain our refining operations over the last three years,” he said.

“The regulators undertake audits and inspections in the oversight of these licenses and can issue improvement notices.

“We welcome these notices as part of our continuous improvement program to ensure that we continue to operate to the highest safety standards.”