Rhrosty,
Shipping isn't the only possible source for those oil slicks, but it's the only probable source. Because we now know the reef is much younger than it was thought to be in the 1970s, and that much of the reef has water flowing under it, if there is any oil under the reef it's very unlikely to be near the surface.

As for your comment about Cyclonic damage, it was and you know it, meant to belittle the environmental damage that could result if they do find oil. The ban on oil exploration was imposed for a good reason, and that reason has not changed.

AIUI the only oilfield yet discovered off Australia's East Coast was in Bass Strait. Isn't that a bit too far away to extrapolate the quality of the oil that may or may not be under the Reef?

"What possible objection could you have with confirming investigation or a local low cost oil industry?"
Isn't it obvious? Like most Australians I'm concerned about pollution and environmental damage to the Reef.

And if there is oil under the Townsville trough, it will probably extend into the eastern part beyond where oil prospecting's forbidden.

"so you think graphene lets a few protons through?"
http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/green-tech/fuel-cells/graphenebased-fuel-cell-membrane-could-extract-hydrogen-directly-from-air

"Given we are just talking about something occurring at a molecular level, not an atomic one, that is hard to fathom."
Then you clearly don't know much about fuel cells. Indeed you confirmed that by saying:
"And given a more robust low cost polymer based fuel cell. Use it to power locally manufactured gas powered ceramic cell driven hybrid electric vehicles"
...totally oblivious to the fact that the low cost polymer based fuel cells are a completely different technology to the ceramic fuel cells. The former don't require high temperatures, but don't run on methane and never will.

I suggest you read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell to inform yourself of the many different fuel cell technologies.

And it's entirely unfair to call Russia "little more than a nation of murderous gangsters". Russia has about six times as many people as Australia; they're not all like Putin.

Adian. I watched an Australian invented "ceramic fuel cell" being assembled by robots in the melbourne factory, as the inventor explained and can assure you the innards are polymer.

Yes there is a question of heat which has just led to the claim, endless free domestic hot water.

As for your remarks on Graphene, you can suspect all you want, but senior geologists, who have seen the core samples are very excited about the probable size of the deposit and the purity of the graphene!

As I understand it China is currently the only place mining, processing and exporting this very rare and therefore very precious commodity?

Not long after the news broke that a survey of the reef had been commissioned, some excited investigative reporters decided to interview the then energy minister on national television. And he calmly put them all down with the following words, "Australian oil is too light to refine or for heavy industrial use".

Well, why would you want to refine something that left the ground as a virtually ready to use diesel, needing only a little chill filtering to remove a few sand particles and the soluble wax content that clogs the injectors on cold and frosty mornings. Which as the first consequence quite massively reduces the total carbon production associated with its use as a preferred low cost indigenous fuel.

I take your point about the Russian people,who it seems voted for the gangsters running the show and stood silent or approved of the annexation of the crimea, and for no better reason than to purloin its hydrocarbon resources and a warm weather port?

Gangsters take what they want and as in the middle east, kill to silence dissent against another mass murdering gangster.

Yes I do tend to repeat myself, however it has been my experience that is how you get folks as thick a bricks to finally understand. Understand?

Rhosty,
Of course I understand, as I keep having to repeat things to get through to you!
But to get people who aren't so thick to understand, what you have to do is stop assuming them to be so thick, respond to the arguments they make, and don't forget that they may know things you don't.

If you watched a fuel cell being assembled by robots in the melbourne factory, and the innards were polymer then it obviously wasn't one of those ceramic fuel cells that can run on methane. The innards of those are ceramic (with the electrodes a ceramic and metal composite). And at the temperatures they operate at, polymers would melt or decompose.

"Yes there is a question of heat which has just led to the claim, endless free domestic hot water."
That doesn't address the question of heat. Indeed fuel cells produce less heat than conventional power stations. But THEY DON'T WORK WHEN THEY'RE NOT VERY HOT. And that makes them unsuitable for most vehicular operations. Proton exchange fuel cells (which run on hydrogen) do not have that problem.

Graphite is far from rare and is mined in many countries. Processing it to separate the graphene sheets is done in many countries, mostly near the point of use. But most of the revolutionary uses being suggested for it will require it to be of a higher quality than can be obtained from natural sources.

When was that idiot the energy minister?

Any oil that is too light to refine (apart from chill filtering, which I'd count as part of the refining process) would be too light to safely use in an unmodified diesel engine!

Russia briefly had democracy, but as soon as Yeltsin found it too inconvenient he effectively got rid of it, and now Putin uses the resources of the state to silence or eliminate his opponents. There are still elections, but apart from Putin's party the only ones permitted to stand are the communists (still seeking to reimpose the worst aspects of Soviet communism) and the Liberal Democrats (who are actually ultranationalists).

You may count chill filtering a part of the refining process Adian, but given the refining process depends on a huge energy input and cracking of the hydrocarbon, I don't; and I've seen largely unmodified engines run on rudimentary filtered Australian sweet light crude.

The fact that it needs little if any processing means the total carbon creation in its processing and use, is around 40% less than the fully imported fully refined and vastly more expensive product.

I'm sorry, but the geologist in charge of the local graphene exploration said, "that china was the only one mining Quality Graphene".

And given your history of reinvention, unreliable memory or just denying everything, I set more store in his knowledge than yours.

Bluegen, if memory serves, put a number of its fuel cells into private Victorian homes, where they ran on cheap natural gas.

When the Victorian government found out that the mugs in mugsville were able to reduce their energy bill, by as much as 75%, hey presto, the price of gas went up!

This is what's called governing for the people!

Not only was bluegen eventually forced offshore, but the state government seemed to conspire to kill the idea, before we started to make millions from its mass production and export?

Incidently there's not a vehicle plying our highways or byways that can't be converted to run on CNG, and as the first result, further significant lowering of the total transport related carbon output.

A few drill holes in the reef isn't going to amount to a hill of beans ,when compared with the triannual damage of fairly frequent cyclones!

I don't know who that minister was, given everybody just referred to him as Minister. Mr Ruddick perhaps?

Since then a government of the people, has locked up more and more of the reef to largely protect it from any further exploration?

The expressed fear of fully imported activists!

And now our fully imported reserves are down to weeks!

It seems Canberra is a place where idiots abound?

Rhosty,
I concede the point on graphene: I've checked and natural graphite is the best source at the moment, and China is by far the biggest exporter of it.

I'm not saying diesel engines couldn't run on Australian light crude; I'm saying they couldn't run on oil that's too light to refine.

It was an increase in demand for natural gas, combined with the ability to export it, which resulted in higher gas prices; it wasn't a government conspiracy.

But the Bluegen units never really made much sense anyway. On such a small scale the efficiency penalties of keeping it at the operating temperature make it less efficient than conventional power generation.

I agree vehicles can be converted to run on CNG, and that their CO2 emissions are lower on CNG. However engines run less efficiently on CNG.

Many things are damaging the Great Barrier Reef at the moment. Many things inflict damage that would be insignificant on their own, but is a great threat when combined with everything else.

Canberra's had its share of idiots for at least as long as I've lived in Australia, and presumably a lot longer. But our oil supply is not under threat.

Adian given as you claim, ceramic fuel cells can't run on methane and give the Bluegen fuels cells did just that I think your complete reliance on links for your mountainous bogus information is self evident.

I've never seen flexible ceramics and the cells in Bluegen ceramic fuel cell flexed!

Moreover, quite happily used methane (natural gas), Which according to your "expert knowledge", ceramic fuel cells can't use?

And instead of addressing your misinformation, tried to gloss over the fact a number of Bluegen ceramic fuel cells were placed in victorian homes where they happily ran on NG(methane)

Methane is mostly hydrogen with a few carbon atoms included in the methane molecule.

As for Australian sweet light crude being too light for diesel engines, again you are quite grossly misinformed; or just intent on filling this site with endless misinformation?

The chief of Santos ran his Pajero on the stuff for years with no apparent harmful side effects.

The oil is only light in comparison to heavy crude, and is just a little thicker (very warm Honey in color and viscosity) as is, than refined diesel.

Removing the soluble wax content, makes the difference far less apparent.

However given the viscosity, it works better with the inclusion of 4.7% methanol, which seems to eliminate the black smoke caused by the soluble wax content.

As for chill filtering being refining?

The oil leaves the well head at considerable natural pressure and natural gas leaves the well head at sub zero temperatures.

Both of these factors can be employed to make such processing as may be necessary for our traditional sweet light crude, almost input energy free and virtually costless.

I've seen insane fanaticism, but you take the cake; and not just in your misinformation pertaining to our reef; but in any other way you can attack/belittle those who might support just such an endevour?

We should access any oil or gas to be found there, for sound environmental reasons, as well as the obvious economic benefits; and indeed, the return to us of our patently purloined economic sovereignty.