source : the age
The Crisafulli government has doubled down on its bid to unlock fossil fuel supplies in Queensland, announcing a $25 million investment to aid the development of renewable diesel at a refinery near the Port of Brisbane.
The funding partnership between the state government and Ampol’s Lytton refinery is the first program to be approved under the LNP’s Sovereign Industry Development Fund, designed to boost the development of key industries including defence, biomedicine and biofuels.
The $25 million investment will be used to support Ampol’s existing diesel hydrotreater to co-process conventional diesel, using biogenic feedstocks such as waste, plant oils and animal fats to produce renewable fuel that can be used in any existing diesel engine.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said stage one of the project would allow the refinery to produce up to 20 million litres of renewable diesel a year from 2028.
Further stages could produce up to 750 million litres of diesel.
“We have liquid gold being produced here at the Ampol refinery, and it’s going to produce more, so we can get more diesel where it’s needed,” Bleijie said.
Speaking from the foot of the refinery in Lytton, the deputy premier said the project had been declared a “proscribed project” to ensure its certainty and ability to begin production from 2028.
“[It] means the coordinator-general will take over the approvals, and everything will be fast-tracked,” the deputy premier said.
Bleijie said the government’s flagship $180.6 million sovereign development fund had received “$2.2 billion dollars worth of expressions of interest” during the funding application process, which he said reinforced the LNP’s push to “build sovereign capability” in Queensland.
The announcement follows weeks of lobbying by the Crisafulli government to build and expand fossil fuel industries in Queensland, most notably in the Taroom Trough near the town of Miles, west of Brisbane.
But a letter sent to Crisafulli by federal Environment Minister Murray Watt last week revealed the state government was yet to make a formal request to advance drilling prospects in the region, and was calling for the project to be fast-tracked through a mechanism that did not exist under new federal environment laws.
“It is unclear what you mean by the ‘National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway’ as no such pathway exists under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 [EPBC Act],” Watt said.
Fossil fuel projects will not be able to access the fast-track assessment pathway.
Under changes to EPBC legislation announced last year, only projects that meet new legal and environmental standards, and provide the right information upfront, will be eligible.
Asked whether it was fair to expect the federal government to support the Taroom Trough when information such as the depth of drilling for oil had not been provided, Crisafulli said the Albanese government “had those details”.
He went on to criticise the new EPBC reforms.
“There is a line which has deliberately been put in to thwart fossil fuels … if that disappeared, if it went back to exactly as it was, the same environmental standards that existed for everyone, all of the problems disappear,” he said.
The Ampol refinery announcement also comes as fuel drops to pre-war prices, with petrol stations across Brisbane showing prices under $2 for the first time in weeks.
Crisafulli said while that showed relief to supply concerns, “we don’t know what May, and June and July looks like”.
The Brisbane refinery is critical for fuel supply in Australia given the only other facility, in Geelong, was damaged by fire last week.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
