The questions we don’t ask: A review of the Australian Energy Resource Assessment  

Cameron Leckie of ASPO Australia has a review of the Australian Energy Resource Assessment (AERA) - The questions we don’t ask: A review of the Australian Energy Resource Assessment.

The recently released Australian Energy Resource Assessment (AERA), particularly the aspects related to oil, is yet another example of how our Government, and the bureaucracies supporting it, are failing to ask the right questions. The unfortunate consequences of this approach implies that Australia will be left with few options to respond to a very challenging set of problems, something that could and should be avoidable.

It should be noted that most of the information in Chapter three - oil of the AERA is good, particularly the assessment of Australia’s future oil production. To the lay person it would appear to be a thorough and accurate appraisal of Australia’s oil situation. The problem’s lie in the nuances, the fallacies, the assumptions and the reliance on a narrow and far from fool proof set of data and projections on the international oil arena. These shortfalls could have significant implications for Australia, so lets take a closer look.