Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

PETROLEUM RESOURCE RENT TAX ASSESSMENT ACT 1987 - SECT 5

             (1)  For the purposes of this Act (including this section) a reference to exploration for petroleum in, or recovery of petroleum from, a production licence area, an exploration permit area or a retention lease area is a reference to exploration for petroleum in, or recovery of petroleum from, the production licence area, the exploration permit area or the retention lease area while the production licence, exploration permit or retention lease concerned is or was in force.

             (2)  For the purposes of this Act, a reference to exploration for petroleum in, or recovery of petroleum from, the eligible exploration or recovery area in relation to a petroleum project is a reference to exploration for petroleum in, or recovery of petroleum from:

                     (a)  where the production licence or any production licence in relation to the project is a permit derived production licence--the exploration permit area in relation to the exploration permit to which the production licence is related (being exploration or recovery occurring either before or after the production licence came into force but not after marketable petroleum commodities cease, otherwise than temporarily, to be produced in relation to the project);

                     (b)  where the production licence or any production licence in relation to the project is a lease derived production licence--the retention lease area in relation to the retention lease to which the production licence is related (being exploration or recovery occurring either before or after the production licence came into force but not after marketable petroleum commodities cease, otherwise than temporarily, to be produced in relation to the project); and

                     (c)  the production licence area of the production licence, or the production licence areas of the production licences, in respect of the project.

             (3)  For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), where, at a time when no permit derived production licence in relation to an exploration permit is in force, a retention lease that is related to the exploration permit comes into force, any exploration for, or recovery of, petroleum that occurred while the exploration permit was in force in the block or blocks in respect of which the retention lease was granted and during the period:

                     (a)  where paragraph (b) does not apply--before the retention lease came into force; or

                     (b)  where, before the retention lease came into force, a permit derived production licence, or permit derived production licences, in relation to the exploration permit were in force--after that production licence or all of those production licences, as the case may be, ceased to be in force and before the retention lease came into force;

shall be taken to have occurred in the retention lease area and not in the exploration permit area notwithstanding that the retention lease was not in force at that time.

             (4)  For the purposes of subsection (2), where, but for this subsection, the same exploration for petroleum or recovery of petroleum would be exploration for petroleum in, or recovery of petroleum from, the exploration permit area or the retention lease area in relation to 2 or more production licences, the exploration or recovery shall be taken to relate only to the production licence that first came into force.