The state of Queensland on Wednesday urged Australia’s federal government to fast-track the approval of the Taroom Trough project that would see the first new oil development project the country in 50 years.
The Queensland state government is throwing its support behind the Taroom Trough project for oil extraction at a site west of Brisbane and calls on the federal government to assess the development plan under the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway, removing delays in bringing mass oil production to market.
Amid the major fuel supply crunch in Australia, the Queensland government is seeking accelerated approval timelines for the Taroom Trough project, which would bolster the nation’s long-term fuel security, the state government said on Wednesday.
The first barrels of oil from the Taroom Trough are now making their way into the domestic fuel supply with Shell producing 200 barrels of crude oil a day, which is being refined at iOR’s Eromanga refinery, and produced into diesel.
To support the development of the Taroom Trough as a major oil supply for domestic fuel, the Queensland Government has announced it will streamline roads and trunk infrastructure under a new Taroom Trough Development Plan, and now wants the federal government to fast-track the approval.
Australia’s Environment Minister, Murray Watt, told Sky News today that the federal government had not received yet any proposal from the Queensland Government around this development.
Watt added, however, “We’re open to any good idea that’s being put forward to build our sovereign capability, as long as they stack up economically and environmentally.”
Earlier this year, the Queensland government appointed its preferred tenderers to explore for oil and gas in the Taroom Trough, in a move to potentially open Australia’s first new major hydrocarbon province since the 1970s.
This was just weeks before the war in the Middle East roiled global oil and fuel markets, forcing Australia’s government to intervene to preserve domestic supply and protect consumers by halving the fuel excise on gasoline and diesel for three months in a bid to alleviate financial stress from spiking fuel prices.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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