Many industry leaders believe that the Government must adopt a national energy policy to promote the next phase of petroleum industry development if Australia is to avoid an energy-led financial disaster.

The latest statistics indicate that Australia's oil self-sufficiency will drop from 90% to about 40% by 2010, leading to a blow out in the current account of about $10 billion.

"I accept the criticism, its inevitable," the Minister said. "Governments never work fast enough for business.

"The main thing that I'm seeing is a growing awareness by government of the important of finding more oil. That's certainly becoming a stark reality."

Mr Macfarlane promised a modified depreciation regime would be released in the May Budget, the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax was being reviewed and the Government was considering including oil and gas explorers in so-called flow through share schemes that the gold industry is lobbying for.