A tiny outback Queensland town with less than 50 residents is being touted as a possible solution to the nation’s fuel crisis, after being dubbed a potential “Kuwait of Australia”.
The remote town of Eromanga, known as the home of Australia’s largest dinosaur fossils, boasts a rare combination of extensive oil reserves and refining capabilities.
Now, the local council is highlighting its untapped potential as Australia grapples with fuel supply issues amid the Middle East war.
“For more than 40 years, this region has quietly delivered oil production without environmental incident – a track record that stands up under any level of scrutiny. Our oil is so pure it is used primarily for underground mining due to its low emission,” Quilpie Shire Mayor Ben Hall said.
The Queensland Government recently announced Eromanga, located 1000km west of Brisbane on the edge of the Lake Eyre Basin, was sent the first barrels of oil from the Taroom Trough – Australia’s fist new major oil refinery in 50 years – to be refined into diesel.
While Mayor Hall welcomed the news, he said oil reserves in the nearby Cooper Basin could be processed at the under-utilised Eromanga refinery.
The refinery, operating since 1986, produces 635 barrels a day and 10.25 megalitres of diesel fuel a year under restrictions by the Regional Planning Interests (Lake Eyre Basin) Amendment Regulation 2024, which limits oil and gas activities in the Lake Eyre Basin, including any further oil being taken from the Cooper Basin.
Meanwhile, larger refineries near Brisbane are free to produce up to 1250 barrels a day.
“There is a real opportunity here to refine more product locally, particularly given the volume of oil sitting in the Cooper Basin,” Mayor Hall said.
“We have been called the Kuwait of Australia, and when you consider what we’re sitting on that’s not overstating the oil reserves that can be safely accessed in our region,” he added, referring to oil rich Middle Eastern nation.
“At a time when global fuel markets remain volatile, it makes sense to maximise what we have onshore and close to where it’s needed. The capacity out of the Taroom Trough is low with only a handful of wells in operation, while the Cooper basin has hundreds of wells with known capacity, and commercial infrastructure already established by Santos and BHP.
“Local production, rather than transporting oil on the Warrego Highway to Eromanga, would also take pressure off road infrastructure which is set to be negatively impacted by the increased large freight movements from Taroom.”
The mayor said the region was geologically, “very stable”, with a track record of safely delivering oil for 40 years and oil production for more than 60.
“There is an incredibly strong argument for increasing production on site at Eromanga for local refining – this would allow us to help ease the current fuel supply crisis.”
The Quilpie Shire Council is calling for the revision of policies including the state’s Regional Planning Interests (Lake Eyre Basin) Amendment Regulation 2024 and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC).
“We’re seeing unprecedented demand to bring new oil fields online and must understand the restrictions placed upon supporting this demand,” Mayor Hall said.
“The next logical step is to ensure the Cooper Basin and greater Lake Eyre Basin isn’t constrained from helping Australia at this time of crisis. Discussions are already underway regarding potential expansion at the Eromanga refinery to help scale up domestic production.
“The other part of the equation should be to allow access to oil reserves in the Cooper basin. Eromanga is well-known as the home of Australia’s biggest dinosaur and for being the furthest from the sea in Australia. We’d love to see it equally well known for being at the centre of the nation’s fuel future.”
Taroom Trough
Taroom Trough, about 750 square kilometres in size, is located in the Bowen Basin, roughly four hours west of Brisbane.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli, who visited Shell’s acreage in the trough earlier this month, praised the site’s development as an “opportunity to deliver liquid gold”.
“We have no intention of wasting it,” he told reporters at the time.
“What a golden opportunity in this country to get back to a time when we are prepared to drill, and refine and store our own fuel.”
Shell makes 200 barrels of “high-quality” crude oil a day at the trough, which is being refined into diesel at iOR’s Eromanga refinery.
Elixir Energy, which owns an interest in the trough, estimates the acreage held by Shell alone holds three trillion cubic feet of gas and 256 million barrels of light oil and condensates.
Beach Energy and Omega Oil and Gas are also exploring the area after being awarded land, with the latter to begin a $50 million drilling campaign in June.
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