Fuel sales across Viva’s existing convenience network are still about 7 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, although they were up 4 per cent over the six months to June, the company said in a half-year update.

Wyatt said cost-of-living pressures, including higher petrol prices which are stubbornly above $2 a litre, were weighing on motorists. “To move from $1.60 to $2.20, because of lower exchange rates and higher oil prices, is obviously a big jump for people,” Wyatt said. “That alone is not the issue. It’s the cost of fuel on top of the cost of electricity, gas and everything else.”

Sales of jet fuel to airlines and diesel to mining and transport firms through Viva’s commercial and industrial arm rose sharply, by 15 per cent, as Australia’s aviation industry bounces back on the return of international travel.

Viva said it had been forced to delay the rollout of ultra-low sulphur gasoline, which it expected to sell through its bowser network by next year, until the second half of 2025. The company was required to upgrade its Geelong Refinery to meet federally legislated fuel quality standards that will be introduced next year to enable lower-emission vehicle technologies.

Wyatt said Viva would now lodge a waiver request with the federal government to cover the time gap. The $350 million investment to convert the refinery, the company’s largest in the past 20 years, was derailed by difficulties in sourcing parts for the facility, he said.

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