蛋疼
4.1K posts
Australia🇦🇺: how does a country that produces oil, run out of oil? Answer: decades of virtue-signaling environmentalism, refinery closures, and a near-total ban on fracking This seems to be a unifying theme when you look into the current predicament facing many European nations, Canada and New Zealand. Times of crisis expose geopolitical luxury beliefs and reinforce how important good governance is. In 2000, Australia was largely energy self-sufficient, with domestic production and eight refineries meeting nearly all demand. Then the ideological capture set in. Today, there are just two refineries operating today, supplying only ~17% of Australia's needs and minimal fracking due to the green lobby. It's estimated that there are over 400 billion barrels of shale oil in place with 17.5 billion recoverable - enough for roughly 40 years of domestic consumption at current rates. Now, Australia finds itself dangerously dependent on imports for refined fuels. Singapore and South Korea together supply around 50% of Australia's gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Yes, resource-rich Australia, blessed with massive hydrocarbon deposits, has to rely on tiny Singapore with no natural resources. Through strategic decisions and long-term planning, Singapore became a refining hub with a vast strategic reserve. This is what happens when you lose contact with reality. If Australia had rejected environmental idealism and instead pursued disciplined policy, it would have been a net oil exporter. Instead, it is now a net importer of oil
