Massive oil spill at Port of Brisbane could take week to clear

Ampol has confirmed an 800,000l oil spill at it’s Port of Brisbane refinery on Tuesday night.

The Port of Brisbane. Picture: Tertius Pickard

A major clean-up operation was under way on Tuesday night after 800,000l of crude oil was spilt at the Ampol Refinery at Port of Brisbane.

Queensland Fire Department crews were called to reports of an oil leak from a tank at South St in Lytton about 5pm on Tuesday.

A drone was deployed, along with four QFD crews and a scientific unit to respond to the hazmat incident. 

“They stopped the leak at 5.50pm, with foam ready to go as a precaution if there was a fire. It has been stopped,” a QFD spokesman said. 

“No immediate impact to residents nearby. A drone was used to monitor the ongoing situation.”

No homes or members of the public were impacted, nor was the Brisbane River.

“Queensland Fire and Rescue is in the process of recovery of the oil with the owner for a protracted incident over several days,” a QFD spokesman said.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, Ampol confirmed the incident involved a storage tank.

“There was a loss of containment from a storage tank at its Lytton refinery in Brisbane,” the statement read.

“All product has been contained within purpose-built bunds. No other areas of the refinery were impacted. No waterways, including the Brisbane River, were impacted.

“No injuries were sustained, and relevant authorities have been notified and are attending the site.

“Work is under way to clean up the site and to understand how this occurred, and we will work with relevant authorities during this process.”