Australian federal and state authorities are pressing ahead with investigations into the Taroom Trough (a geological formation in central Queensland near the town of Roma), after Queensland Premier David Crisafulli promoted the site as a potential "sea of oil" that could reduce the country's heavy dependence on fuel imports, which now account for roughly 90% of national consumption at a cost of over A$51 billion last year. Early exploration by companies including Beach Energy, Omega Oil and Gas, and a Shell subsidiary has confirmed the presence of oil and gas trapped in rock 3–4 kilometres underground, though extraction would require hydraulic fracturing — a technology linked to significant water use and potential environmental harm that has previously faced strong opposition from agricultural communities in the region. Analysts caution that the light crude likely held in the formation is better suited to petrol production than diesel, which represents Australia's most critical fuel shortage, and draw comparisons to the heavily hyped but ultimately failed Stuart shale oil project of the 1970s–2000s, warning it is far too early to count on the Taroom Trough as a reliable domestic energy solution.