Quilpie Shire Council, Media Release, 22 April 2026

With a rare combination of extensive oil reserves and local refining capabilities, the small Outback town of Eromanga (population under 50) is emerging as one of the strongest contenders to help ease Australia’s fuel supply issues onshore.

Following the Queensland Government’s announcement that the first barrels of oil from the Taroom Trough have been sent to Eromanga for refining into diesel, Quilpie Shire Council is welcoming the milestone, while also urging policy makers to consider tapping into local oil reserves.

Quilpie Shire Mayor Ben Hall congratulated the Government on unlocking the development of Australia’s first oil field in 50 years to bolster the nation’s long-term fuel security, but also highlighted the oil reserves that exist in the Cooper Basin that could be processed locally at the Eromanga refinery.

“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,” Mayor Hall said.

“We’re only around 1,000 kms from Brisbane, and despite sitting on the very outer edge of the Lake Eyre basin – which covers a huge 1.2 million square kilometres – our region is bound by the Regional Planning Interests (Lake Eyre Basin) Amendment Regulation 2024 that currently restricts any further oil being taken from the Cooper basin. We have a phenomenal record of safe delivery of oil over four decades, and gas production for over 60 years, geologically we’re a very stable region. 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. We’re calling for the Cooper Basin to be front and centre in the national discussion on local fuel supply.”

The strategically significant Eromanga refinery has been operated by the Inland Oil Refinery (IOR) since 1986 with industry pundits agreeing its modest size belies its importance.

The bigger East Coast refineries near Brisbane produce up to 1,250 barrels a day while the underutilised Eromanga refinery currently only produces 635 barrels a day, producing 10.25ML diesel fuel p.a because of restrictions placed by the Regional Planning Interests (Lake Eyre Basin) Amendment Regulation.

With Queensland accelerating development in the Taroom Trough – Australia’s first new oil field in half a century – infrastructure already in place at Eromanga is being recast as a critical asset.

“There is a real opportunity here to refine more product locally, particularly given the volume of oil sitting in the Cooper Basin.  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,” Mayor Hall said.

“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 push comes amid growing scrutiny of Australia’s fuel supply chains.

With Government unlocking production in the Taroom Trough, Quilpie Shire Council is calling for revision of policies such as 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 Ben 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.”