Not exactly. Existing producers were a bit upset that they were unable to export their oil to the world market where it sold for a lot more than in Australia, and would be explorers certainly were not going to explore where returns would be far less than exploring elsewhere. The government took the view that as local production decreased, Australia would be paying world prices anyway, but if production could be sustained here, at least the royalties and taxes on production would go to Canberra not Riyadh.
The major beneficiaries from the change in oil pricing were shareholders in (mostly small) Australian oil companies, and long term, as a result of the exploration that followed, state and federal governments making major parts of their budget from royalties and taxes on the gas export industry that has resulted.



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) Not that an option exists today to power it off the shelf. Not far I hear.


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