Well it isn't the first time people have referred to a gas project as something to do with "oil". As we can see even Angus Taylor said after being asked about PEP 11: "we can get more upstream oil" and "we will get the fuel we need, whether or not that project goes ahead".SHANNA BULL: Minister, since we spoke to you last, still a decision hasn't been made on this controversial PEP 11. Why the hold up?
ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, that's a matter for Keith Pitt, he's the Minister, he makes the decision. I can't comment on that. I'll leave that to him. What I would say is right across Australia we're seeing places where we can get more upstream oil. We do need it for our fuel security. The Northern Territory's proving to be a region which is offering enormous potential. So, we will get the fuel we need, whether or not that project goes ahead. As I say, I'll leave the specifics of that project to Keith Pitt.
SHANNA BULL: But excuse me, Minister, aren't- are you the man at the moment, though, representing this resources portfolio in Cabinet discussions?
ANGUS TAYLOR: It's not my decision. This is a decision for Keith Pitt. He is the Minister who makes the decision. That's the legislation that would [indistinct]…
RICHARD KING: Even the Prime Minister has expressed his desire to not renew this permit. It does seem strange that it's been months now since it expired, and yet a decision still seems to be off over the horizon.
ANGUS TAYLOR: You're more than welcome to call Keith and get him onto the show.
RICHARD KING: Okay
ANGUS TAYLOR: It's his decision, so I'll leave it at that.
https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/taylor/transcripts/interview-richard-king-2hd-newcastle
Maybe it is a historical colloquialism from the fact that enhanced gas recovery was not a mainstream "thing" for a long time because gas extraction for decades was not even a very profitable operation or that oil extraction colloquially incorporates gas extraction. If authorities speak on these topics in the future, they should say "enhanced resource recovery" to prevent the semantic sticklers from pulling them up on it every time. Similarly, to be fair to Angus Taylor and Richie Merzian, gas and oil are often found together: "Natural gas originates by the same geological thermal cracking process that converts kerogen to petroleum. As a consequence, oil and natural gas are often found together." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_reservoir and "It is broadly accepted that so-called 'thermal' gas is the product of thermal cracking, 'primary' thermal gas from kerogen cracking, and 'secondary' thermal gas from oil cracking." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2705366/
Source: James G. Speight Natural Gas: A Basic Handbook, Gulf Professional Publishing, Elsevier Inc. 2019.
