Australia's Queensland state government aims to accelerate commercial condensate production at the onshore Taroom Trough to improve long-term fuel security, given gasoil supply concerns across Australia stemming from the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz.
The Queensland government plans to streamline environmental approvals and develop road and trunk infrastructure near the Taroom Trough, which is considered to have significant oil and gas potential, it announced today.
It has called on the federal government to designate the project as one of national interest and assess it under the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway. The pathway would speed up environmental approvals by avoiding duplication of assessments already completed at the state level, the Queensland government said. Projects assessed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act typically take several years to be approved.
The Taroom Trough has been inactive for about 50 years, but Shell, which is exploring parts of the field, is producing about 200 b/d of condensate. Trucks carrying condensate are now travelling to fuel supplier IOR's Eromanga refinery in western Queensland, where it is processed into diesel, mostly used in underground mining, Shell said.
IOR's Eromanga refinery can process about 1,250 b/d of locally produced crude from surrounding basins. By comparison, Ampol's Lytton refinery in Brisbane has crude distillation capacity of about 109,000 b/d.
Faster, more efficient approvals are critical, lobby group Australian Energy Producers said, describing the Taroom Trough as a "highly prospective basin" that could play a major role in Australia's energy future.
Beach Energy, Omega and Tri-Star E&P are also exploring the Taroom Trough through a joint venture. Beach has entered the trough after being awarded a 750km² permit in the region, it said on 10 February.
The Queensland plan adds to fuel security measures by federal government and a move by Western Australia to compel fuel supply chain transparency. Australia's limited refining capacity and reliance on gasoil imports from crude-constricted refineries in South Korea have led to consumer stockpiling, including by mining and agricultural consumers of gasoil.
Australian importers have sourced gasoil from the US and Europe since the start of the Iran war to take advantage of lower prices in these markets compared to Asia and in order to lock in supply security.
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