As Australian leaders scramble to secure fuel supplies on the international market, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has been quick to pitch a domestic option: begin extracting the “sea of oil” in the Taroom Trough, a geological formation near the town of Roma.

The state government is strongly backing extraction as a way to shore up fuel security. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has reportedly asked Queensland to give details “without delay”.

It seems like common sense – extract domestic oil to reduce dependence on oil imports. But scepticism is warranted. Exploration has just begun. Many challenges would need to be overcome. Extracting the oil would require fracking, a controversial technology with clear harms to human health.

From self-sufficient to dependent on imports

In 2000, Australia produced and refined more than 560,000 barrels of domestic oil a day, meeting 98% of its needs. Now, 26 years later, most Australian refineries have closed and major domestic oilfields are running out. The nation produces just 5.6% of the crude oil it consumes each day.

Australia now imports about 90% of its fuel needs, either as refined fuels or as crude oil for the two remaining refineries to turn into petrol, diesel or other fuels. This cost more than A$51 billion last year.

The Taroom Trough isn’t a new discovery. Its potential has been known for decades.

What’s new is its location........

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