Expansion of Eromanga Refinery in Queensland, Australia

      (Jay Carstens’s post from the ABC NEWS AUS on 11April 2026.)

Expansion on cards at Eromanga refinery as Queensland looks to produce more oil: As Queensland looks for more oil, a small outback refinery has proven critical for the exploration process and now expansion is on the cards.

The Inland Oil Refinery has operated in Eromanga for more than 40 years, creating small amounts of underground mining fuel that is sold to the mining sector. The refinery and its supplier say expansion is a genuine possibility as the Taroom Trough oil field opens up.

In the outback town of Eromanga, about 1,000 kilometres west of Brisbane, lies a small and relatively unknown oil refinery. Inland Oil Refinery (IOR) has operated in the south-west town since 1986, but now could be on the cusp of expansion as the Queensland government pushes to speed up oil projects.

Outback oilfield that could save Australia

          (David Wu’s post from the NEWS.COM.AU on 09 April 2026.)

No gas at the Aussie servos!

A remote Queensland basin could be the answer to our oil supply problems – but environmental laws are preventing it from being fast-tracked. Experts believe a trough in remote Queensland, roughly the size of Singapore, could have enough oil to eliminate Australia’s heavy reliance on crude imports.

The country’s dependence on petrol and diesel imports from our Asian neighbours has been exposed by the Middle East war, with bowsers running empty nationwide. Supply is still a major talking point, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese trying to reassure Australians stock levels currently in and arriving to the country remain strong.

But Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has argued Mr Albanese only needs to look domestically in the Sunshine State’s backyard for Australia’s own future oil source.

Taroom Trough Oilfield in Queensland, Australia

        (Angela Smith’s post from the AFR Australia on 08 April 2026.)

Oil explorers say Queensland’s Taroom could fill nation’s refineries: Queensland’s Taroom Trough could fill the country’s refineries and leave enough oil available for export, according to the chief executive of the largest holder of acreage in what has become a major energy exploration play.

Stuart Nicholls, who leads Elixir Energy, said all the signs pointed to the trough – an area the size of Singapore west of Brisbane – being able to produce enough oil to eliminate the need for refineries to import crude.

The Queensland government is urging the federal government to accelerate the processing of environmental approvals needed to extract oil in the trough to avoid years of delays in production and avert a repeat of the fuel crisis that has developed since the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

“This is an opportunity to deliver liquid gold, and we have no intention of wasting it,” Premier David Crisafulli said after travelling to Shell’s acreage in the trough. “What a golden opportunity in this country to get back to a time when we are prepared to drill, and refine and store our own fuel.”

Trump threatens to 'obliterate' Iran’s Kharg Island

          (Staff post from THE ABC NEWS AUS on 31 March 2026.)

Trump threatens to 'obliterate' Iranian oil and energy sites if it refuses deal to end war: Donald Trump is threatening to obliterate Kharg Island, which is responsible for 90 per cent of Iran's oil production.  

Donald Trump is threatening to obliterate Iran's energy plants and oil wells if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The US president posted on his platform Truth Social that the United States would be "blowing up" Iran's strategically important Kharg Island if the nation's leaders refused to make a deal.

He went on to write that the US was in "serious discussions" with a "NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME" to end the war. "Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately "Open for Business," we will conclude our lovely "stay" in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet "touched"," he said.

PM Albanese Chased Out of Lakemba Mosque!

           (Matt Hampson’s post from THE SKY NEWS AUS on 22 March 2026.)

‘He should read the tea leaves’: Anthony Albanese deeply unpopular across Australia after mosque heckling. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's reception at the Lakemba mosque has highlighted his deep unpopularity among broad sections of the country, Barnaby Joyce says.

Anthony Albanese has united broad sections of Australia in their disapproval of his leadership after he was heckled and booed at a Western Sydney mosque. The Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke were met with hostility during a visit to Lakemba Mosque for Eid prayers marking the end of Ramadan.

Protesters shouted at the senior Labor figures after prayers concluded, with one calling Mr Albanese’s appearance a “disgrace”. Questioned about the mosque incident, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce on Sunday offered a blunt four-word assessment of Mr Albanese’s leadership: “He can’t do it”.

Get Out of NYC Then (2022), Now Please Come Back!

         (Vaughn Golden’s post from THE YAHOO NEWS on 19 March 2026.)

Desperate Hochul begs wealthy New Yorkers to come back — as Mamdani pressures her to hike their taxes: NY Gov. Kathy Hochul is urging wealthy New Yorkers who have left the city to return, citing competition with other states with lower tax burdens.

NY State Gov. Kathy Hochul is begging wealthy New Yorkers who fled the city to encourage their rich pals to come back and continue padding the Empire State’s lavish public handouts. Hochul made the case against caving to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s demands that she hike income taxes — by saying she not only wants fat cats to stay in the city, but also by clawing at those who have moved to states with better business climates like Florida.

“Maybe the first step should be to go down to Palm Beach and see who we can bring back home because our tax base has been eroded,” the Democratic governor said at a forum hosted by Politico last week. “I have to look at the fact that we are in competition with other states who have less of a tax burden on their corporations and their individuals,” she said.

USS Tripoli with Marine Division in Strait of Hormuz

(Shishir Gupta’s post from THE HINDUSTAN TIMES on 20 March 2026.)

US Navy giant 'Tripoli' set to enter warzone, may break Strait of Hormuz chokehold: USS Tripoli provides US an opportunity to put troops on ground to secure the Strait of Hormuz, key waterway choked since the conflict began on Feb 28.

The direction that on-going US-Israel-Iran war will take will be decided next week when 50,000 ton USS Tripoli, amphibious assault ship, carrying over 2000 marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) enters the war theatre in north Arabian sea.

The huge ship with top of the line fighters on board is currently south of Sri Lanka in south Indian Ocean and is on way to force multiply the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in Gulf of Oman.

The huge ship with top of the line fighters on board is currently south of Sri Lanka in south Indian Ocean and is on way to force multiply the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in Gulf of Oman. USS Tripoli is 844 feet long (USS Ford, the largest war ship in the world is 1106 feet long) with F-35, MV-22 Osprey and MH60S Seahawk Helicopters on board. It is accompanied with landing ship decks (LSDs) for deploying Marines on enemy land. The battleship is expected to enter the war theatre around March 22-23.

Iranian women's football team back in Iran!

        (Staff post from THE ABC NEWS AUS on 19 March 2026.)

Iranian women's football team back in Iran, state media announces: Iran's national women's football team has returned to the Islamic Republic after several of the players sought asylum in Australia, Iranian media is reporting.

The outlets shared footage of the players entering Iran after landing in Türkiye and taking a bus to the border. They were greeted by some officials at the border. Most of the team's players left Australia last week, travelling through Malaysia and Oman on their way to Türkiye.

Two Iranian female players, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, chose to remain in Australia and have been training with the Brisbane Roar club. Others who initially sought asylum after the team was knocked out of the Women's Asian Cup later changed their minds and said they would return to Iran.

US Seizure of Strategic Kharg Island, Iranian oil?

              (Staff post from THE NEW ARAB NEWS on 07 March 2026.)

A tiny island in the Persian Gulf could be Trump’s secret weapon against Iran. Kharg island holds 94 per cent of Iran’s oil exports and could choke off the country’s economy for years:  American analysts have floated the possibility of the US military seizing control of Iran's largest oil export terminal on Kharg Island: Left is the satellite view of Kharg Island, which hosts Iran's largest oil export terminal.  

A senior US official vowed to take control of Iran's oil on Friday as the devastating regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran neared its second week. "What we want to do is to get such massive oil reserves in Iran out of the hands of terrorists," White House advisor Jarrod Agen said in an interview with Fox Business. 

"Ultimately, we’re not going to have to worry about these issues in the Strait of Hormuz," he said, referring to the strategic Gulf chokepoint vital for global energy. We’re going to get all of the oil out of the hands of terrorists," the official said.