The union representing workers at Shell's Geelong refinery says it's breathing a sigh of relief that the plant will stay open and is hopeful all jobs can be saved.
Shell reached a $2.9 billion agreement on Friday to sell its Australian downstream assets, including petrol stations and its Geelong refinery.
Australian Workers Union Victorian secretary Ben Davis said he will seek assurances from Vitol that the jobs will be safe.
"We're breathing a sigh of relief that the Geelong refinery will stay open, given the devastating news we had with Alcoa earlier in the week," he said.
Mr Davis said there had always been a co-operative relationship between workers and management at the refinery and he expects that to continue.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten welcomed the news, but said it was time for the Abbott government to have a jobs plan for Geelong.
"The Geelong community has received quite a few blows in recent times, but they're on their feet, they're fighting back," he told reporters in Geelong.
"The Abbott government must immediately provide a package of up to $100 million which will help the retraining of people in Geelong and in manufacturing, but not just manufacturing, Telstra and other agencies where people have just their jobs."
Victorian Manufacturing Minister David Hodgett said he believes the jobs will be saved after discussions with the new owners on Friday morning.
"It was all positive. They are saying it is business as usual," he said.
Victorian Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said Labor will establish a $5 million Victorian defence procurement office in Geelong if it wins the November state election.
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said the jobs of 450 full-time refinery workers and 150 contractors in Geelong have been secured with the sale of the refinery and Shell's 870 retail businesses.
"It means 1800 jobs across Australia are secure, 1200 of which are here in Victoria, including the 600 jobs in Geelong as stated by Vitol earlier today," Mr Ryan said.
"Vitol has indicated that they will run this operation in its current form ensuring that the positions of those many dedicated people who work at the refinery will continue to be secure well into the future."
