Australia relies heavily on oil imports from neighboring Asian countries, producing only a minimal amount domestically. David Crisafulli, a key figure in the industry, is keen on altering this dynamic.

In a recent visit to the Taroom Trough in the Bowen Basin, approximately 350 kilometers from Brisbane, Crisafulli highlighted the site’s production of around 200 barrels of oil daily, which is subsequently refined into diesel.

Despite this output, Crisafulli believes Australia is underutilizing its potential, missing out on what he describes as a wealth of “liquid gold.”

“We have an ocean of opportunity here,” he remarked, emphasizing the need to eliminate barriers to oil extraction and bolster domestic fuel production.

To facilitate such developments, the federal government possesses the authority under the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway. This provision allows for expedited approval of significant infrastructure projects considered crucial to the national interest.

The federal government has powers under the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway, which can speed up approval for major infrastructure projects deemed to be of the national interest.

While fossil fuel measures weren’t designed to fall under this measure, Queensland politicians argue the time is right if Australia wants to insulate 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 quicker expansion of Queensland’s outback oil fields.

”There are things that can be done with the Queensland government and the Commonwealth government working together in a bilateral agreement to fast-track approvals,” he said.

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

Crisafulli said if expansion was to go through, it was a moment of significance that would be felt far beyond his state’s borders.

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

Climate change action advocates have urged Australia to focus on expanding renewable energy capacity instead of producing more fossil fuels.

“We’ve got roughly eight to 10 years’ worth of oil. We’ve got some shale oil, but we don’t know, like, what quality it is, how of it much there is, how easy it is to get. If you added that in, that’d give us another 35 years,” she said.

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