The Queensland government is fast-tracking the assessment, development and delivery of Australia’s first new prospective oil field in 50 years.

The government said it had authorised a new development plan for the Taroom Trough in south-west Queensland to streamline roads and trunk infrastructure.

It said it would provide the industry with the clarity needed for investment, and provide opportunities for regional communities.

State Coordinator-General Gerard Coggan said his office was prioritising governance and a delivery framework for the plan.

Next steps involve further exploration of the trough’s subsurface potential, critical infrastructure planning and conducting essential baseline studies.

Premier David Crisafulli has described the trough – the centre of which is 75 kilometres from the tiny town of Condamine in the Western Downs – as a sea of oil. Queensland’s Department of Resources estimates the petroleum and gas exploration area covers about 43,000 square kilometres.

The Crisafulli government has also repeated its calls for the federal government recognise the trough as a project of national interest by streamlining approvals under the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway.

That would remove duplicated approvals already submitted at state level, allowing oil to be produced more quickly.

Deputy premier and State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie said the Taroom Trough represented a generational opportunity for Queensland and the nation.

“The Taroom Trough is a credible opportunity for Queensland to drive its own destiny again and ensure we’re no longer at the mercy of foreign nations and at the end of a global supply chain,” Bleijie said.

He said the that the trough had been recognised as a key opportunity for Queensland long before the current national fuel crisis.

“Coordinated development in the Taroom Trough ensures the most efficient and fast-tracked pathway for its development to bolster the nation’s long-term fuel security, and helps deliver regional investment and jobs for our rural and regional communities sooner,” he said.

Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last said the state government approval gave the industry the official signal it had been waiting for.

“My message to industry is clear; I’ll sign, you drill,” Last said.

Last said 200 barrels of oil were already coming from the Taroom Trough to the local refinery at Eromanga each day for local fuel supply.

“The Taroom Trough has the potential to open up Australia’s first major oil province since the 1970s and we’re moving forward with our plan to streamline approvals so producers can get on with it,” he said.

“We’re doing our part, and now the federal government needs to put aside its political ideologies and recognise the national significance of the Taroom Trough by streamlining environmental approvals for the basin under a national interest exemption.”

But Queensland Conservation Council climate lead Jenny Brown said the Crisafulli government’s fast-tracking of oil, gas and coal projects showed a recklessness and lack of care about environmental effects.

“Opening up the Taroom Trough to oil companies won’t bring down power bills, because prices are set on international markets. These projects take years to deliver and won’t provide relief to households facing high energy costs today,” Brown said.

She said the Taroom Trough would contribute to more emissions and climate damage, while affecting Queensland’s water resources, local ecosystems and the jobs they supported.

“If the goal is to ease cost-of-living pressure, a far more direct solution is making fossil fuel companies pay their fair share, such as through a 25 per cent gas export tax, would be more effective,” Brown said.

“With tens of billions of dollars exported each year, that revenue could be returned to households to cut bills and invest in a mix of cheaper renewable energy.”

Republished from InQueensland