Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) The Minister may, at any time, make available to a Minister of State of the Commonwealth or of a State of the Commonwealth:
(a) any information contained in a document to which this section applies that has been furnished to the Minister; and
(b) any cores or cuttings from, or samples of, the sea-bed or subsoil in a block, or samples of petroleum recovered in a block, that have been furnished to the Minister.
(1A) The Minister may, at any time after the grant or renewal, or refusal to grant or renew, a permit, lease, licence, pipeline licence, access authority or special prospecting authority:
(a) make publicly known; or
(b) on request by a person and, if the Minister so requires, on payment of a fee calculated in accordance with the Regulations, make available to that person,
any information contained in, or accompanying, the application for the grant or renewal, as the case may be, but not including:
(c) information of a kind referred to in subsection (2) or (5A); or
(d) particulars of:
(i) the technical qualifications of the applicant and of the employees of the applicant;
(ii) the technical advice available to the applicant; or
(iii) the financial resources available to the applicant.
(2) The Minister may, at any time after the relevant day:
(a) make publicly known; or
(b) on request by a person and, if the Minister so requires, on payment of a fee calculated in accordance with the Regulations, make available to that person,
any information contained in a document to which this section applies that has been furnished to the Minister, being information that relates to the sea-bed or subsoil, or to petroleum, in a block, but not including any matter contained in a document to which this section applies that, in the opinion of the Minister, is a conclusion drawn, in whole or in part, from, or an opinion based, in whole or in part, on, any such information.
(3) The Minister may, at any time after the relevant day:
(a) make publicly known any particulars of; or
(b) on request by a person and, if the Minister so requires, on payment of a fee calculated in accordance with the Regulations, permit that person to inspect,
any cores or cuttings from, or samples of, the sea-bed or subsoil in a block, or samples of petroleum recovered in a block, that have been furnished to the Minister or have been made available to the Minister under subsection (1).
(4) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3):
(a) where:
(i) a permit or lease is in force in respect of the block; and
(ii) the document, core, cutting or sample was furnished to the Minister during the period during which any of the following were in force in respect of the block:
(B) in a case where a lease is in force in respect of the block – the permit that ceased to be in force in respect of the block by virtue of section 38B(7) on the day on which the lease came into force,
the relevant day is the day on which the period of 2 years that commenced on the day on which the document, core, cutting or sample was furnished to the Minister expires;
(b) where:
(i) a licence is in force in respect of the block; and
(ii) the document, core, cutting or sample was furnished to the Minister during the period during which any of the following were in force in respect of the block:
(A) the licence;
(B) the permit or lease that ceased to be in force in respect of the block by virtue of section 44(5) on the day on which the licence came into force,
the relevant day is the day on which the period of 12 months that commenced on the day on which the document, core, cutting or sample was furnished to the Minister expires;
(c) where the document, core, cutting or sample was furnished to the Minister during a period during which a permit, lease or licence was in force in respect of the block and:
(i) the permit, lease or licence is surrendered, cancelled or determined as to the block; or
(ii) the permit, lease or licence expires but is not renewed in respect of the block,
the relevant day is the day on which the permit, lease or licence is so surrendered, cancelled or determined or expires, as the case may be, whether another permit, lease or licence is subsequently in force in respect of the block or not;
(d) where:
(i) the document, core, cutting or sample was furnished to the Minister at a time when a permit, lease or licence was not in force in respect of the block; and
(ii) the information in the document or the core, cutting or sample was collected for the purpose of the sale of information on a non-exclusive basis,
the relevant day is the day determined by the Minister, being a day not more than 5 days after the day on which the document, core, cutting or sample was furnished to the Minister; and
(e) where:
(i) the document, core, cutting or sample was furnished to the Minister at a time when a permit, lease or licence was not in force in respect of the block; and
(ii) paragraph (d)(ii) does not apply,
the relevant day is the day determined by the Minister, being a day not more than 2 years after the day on which the document, core, cutting or sample was furnished to the Minister.
(5) Where:
(a) a document, core, cutting or sample referred to in subsection (1) was furnished to the Minister:
(i) during or in respect of a period during which a permit, lease or licence was in force in respect of a block; or
(ii) during or in respect of a period during which a special prospecting authority or access authority was in force in respect of a block but during which a permit, lease or licence was not in force in respect of the block; and
(b) the permittee, lessee, licensee or holder of a special prospecting authority or access authority or, if the permit, lease, licence, special prospecting authority or access authority has ceased to be in force, the person who was the holder of the permit, lease, licence, special prospecting authority or access authority:
(i) has made publicly known any information contained in the document or has consented in writing to any of that information being made publicly known; or
(ii) has made publicly known any particulars of that core, cutting or sample or has consented in writing to any particulars of that core, cutting or sample being made publicly known or to that core, cutting or sample being made available for inspection,
the Minister to whom that information, core, cutting or sample has been made available under subsection (1) may, at any time after that information has, or those particulars have, been made publicly known or after that consent has been given:
(c) make publicly known that information or, on request by another person and, if the Minister so requires, on payment of a fee calculated in accordance with the Regulations, make that information available to that other person; or
(d) make publicly known those particulars or, on request by any other person and, if the Minister so requires, on payment of a fee calculated in accordance with the Regulations, permit that other person to inspect that core, cutting or sample,
as the case may be.
(5A) Subject to subsection (5F), the Minister may, at any time after 5 years after a document to which this section applies was furnished to him:
(a) make publicly known; or
(b) on request by a person and, if the Minister so requires, on payment of a fee calculated in accordance with the Regulations, make available to that person,
any information contained in the document, being information that relates to the sea-bed or subsoil, or to petroleum, in a block, and that, in the opinion of the Minister, is a conclusion drawn, in whole or in part, from, or an opinion based, in whole or in part, on any such information.
(5B) Before the Minister makes available or publicly known any information pursuant to subsection (5A) he shall
(a) cause to be published in the Gazette a notice:
(i) stating that he proposes to make the information available or publicly known;
(ii) inviting interested persons to give to him by such day as is specified in the notice, being a day not earlier than 45 days after the publication of the notice, a notice objecting to the whole or any part of the information being made available or publicly known; and
(iii) stating that, if a person does not make an objection in accordance with the invitation, the person will be taken to have consented to the information being made available or publicly known; and
(b) if it is practicable to do so, cause a copy of the notice so published in the Gazette to be served on the person who furnished the document containing the information.
(5C) There shall be set out in a notice of objection under subsection (5B)(a)(ii) the reasons for making the objection.
(5D) A person is not entitled to make an objection to information being made available or publicly known except on the grounds that to do so would disclose:
(a) a trade secret; or
(b) any other information the disclosure of which would, or could reasonably be expected to, adversely affect him in respect of his lawful business, commercial or financial affairs.
(5E) Where a person makes an objection to the Minister in accordance with such an invitation, the Minister shall, within 45 days after the receipt of the notice of objection, consider the objection, and may disallow it or allow it in whole or in part, and shall cause to be served on the person written notice of the decision on the objection.
(5F) The Minister shall not make available or make publicly known any information pursuant to subsection (5A) if there is in force an objection made in relation to the information being made available or publicly known but, where such an objection is in force, nothing in this section shall be taken to preclude a further invitation under subsection (5B) being made in relation to the information.
(6) Except as provided by the preceding provisions of this section or for the purposes of the administration of this Act and the Regulations, the Minister shall not:
(a) make publicly known, or make available to any person (not being a Minister of State of the Commonwealth or another State), any information contained in a document to which this section applies; or
(b) make publicly known any particulars of, or permit any person (not being a Minister referred to in paragraph (a)) to inspect any core, cutting or sample so referred to.
(6A) This section applies to:
(a) an application made under this Act to the Minister or a document accompanying such an application; and
(b) a report, return or other document relating to a block that has been furnished under this Act to the Minister.
(7) In this section, a reference to a core, cutting or sample includes a reference to a portion of a core, cutting or sample.
(8) For the purposes of this section:
(a) cores and cuttings, and well data logs, sample descriptions and other documents relating to the drilling of a well shall be deemed to have been furnished to the Minister not later than one month after the drilling of the well was, in the opinion of the Minister, substantially completed; and
(b) geophysical or geochemical data relating to geophysical or geochemical surveys shall be deemed to have been furnished to the Minister not later than one year after the geophysical or geochemical field work was, in the opinion of the Minister, substantially completed.
(9) Subsections (2) and (5A) apply to information contained in a document to which this section applies that was furnished to the Minister before or after the commencement of section 29 of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Amendment Act 1986 .
(10) Subsection (3) applies to cores, cuttings and samples furnished to the Minister before or after the commencement of section 29 of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Amendment Act 1985 .