Queensland Premier Daaid Crisafulli urges federal government to fast-track expansion of outback oil field in response to fuel crisis

Petrol and diesel prices are soaring as rising demand leads to supply issues across the country, with some pumps running dry due to the fuel crisis.

Australia produces very little oil itself and gets most of it from its Asian neighbors, but Crisafulli wants that to change.

Today he traveled to the Taroom Trough in the Bowen Basin, about 350 kilometers from Brisbane. It produces about 200 barrels of oil per day, which is then refined into diesel.

Crisafulli insists this is not enough, saying Australia is missing out on access to a sea of ​​’liquid gold’.

“We have a wealth of opportunity here,” he said.

“I couldn’t think of anything more in the national interest right now than being able to make sure that we remove the barriers to getting oil and produce our own fuel in this country.”

The federal government has powers under the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway, which can expedite the approval of major infrastructure projects deemed of national importance.

While fossil fuel measures were not intended to be covered, Queensland politicians argue the time is right if Australia wants to protect itself from future oil shocks.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he was willing to work with the Queensland government but stopped short of fully endorsing a faster expansion of oil fields in Queensland’s outback.

“There are things that can be done if the Queensland Government and the Commonwealth Government work together in a bilateral agreement to expedite approvals,” he said.

“If oil can be extracted in Australia to replace imports, great.”

Crisafulli said that if the expansion were to go ahead, it would be a moment of significance that would be felt far beyond the borders of his state.

“This is a moment of national importance and an opportunity for our country,” he said.

Climate change advocates have urged Australia to focus on expanding renewable energy capacity rather than producing more fossil fuels.

“We have about eight to 10 years of oil. We have some shale oil, but we don’t know what quality it is, how much of it there is, how easy it is to get. If you add that in, that would give us another 35 years,” she said.

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