PETROLEUM (SUBMERGED LANDS) ACT 1982 - SECT 37G
PETROLEUM (SUBMERGED LANDS) ACT 1982 - SECT 37G
37G—Grant or refusal of renewal of lease
(a) an
application for the renewal of a lease has been made under section 37F;
and
(b) any
further information required by the Minister under section 37F(4) has
been furnished in accordance with that section; and
(c) the
Minister is satisfied that recovery of petroleum from the lease area—
(i)
is not, at the time of the application, commercially
viable; and
(ii)
is likely to become commercially viable within the period
of 15 years after that time,
the Minister—
(d)
must, if the conditions to which the lease is, or has from time to time been,
subject and the provisions of this Part and of the regulations have been
complied with; or
(e) may,
if—
(i)
any of the conditions to which the lease is, or has from
time to time been, subject or any of the provisions of this Part or of the
regulations has not been complied with; and
(ii)
the Minister is, nevertheless, satisfied that special
circumstances exist that justify the granting of the renewal of the lease,
by instrument in writing served on the person who is then the lessee, inform
the person that the Minister is prepared to grant to the person the renewal of
the lease.
(2) Subject to
subsection (3), where an application for the renewal of a lease has been
made under section 37F and—
(a) any
further information required by the Minister under section 37F(4) has not
been furnished in accordance with that section; or
(b) the
Minister is not satisfied as to the matters referred to in
subsection (1)(c); or
(c) any
of the conditions to which the permit is, or has from time to time been,
subject or any of the provisions of this Part or of the regulations has not
been complied with and the Minister is not satisfied that special
circumstances exist that justify the granting of the renewal of the lease,
the Minister must, by instrument in writing served on the person who is then
the lessee, refuse to grant the renewal of the lease.
(3) The Minister shall
not refuse to grant the renewal of the lease unless—
(a) the
Minister has, by instrument in writing served on the lessee, given not less
than one month's notice of his or her intention to refuse to grant the renewal
of the lease; and
(b) the
Minister has served a copy of the instrument on such other persons, if any, as
he or she thinks fit; and
(c) the
Minister has, in the instrument—
(i)
given particulars of the reasons for the intention; and
(ii)
specified a date on or before which the lessee or a
person on whom a copy of the instrument is served may, by instrument in
writing served on the Minister, submit any matters that the lessee wishes to
be considered; and
(d) the
Minister has taken into account any matters so submitted on or before the
specified date by the lessee or by a person on whom a copy of the
firstmentioned instrument has been served.
(4) An instrument
referred to in subsection (1) shall contain—
(a) a
summary of the conditions to which the lease, on the grant of the renewal, is
to be subject; and
(b) a
statement to the effect that the application will lapse if the lessee does not
make a request under subsection (6).
(5) An instrument
under subsection (2) shall, where the Minister refuses to grant the
renewal of a lease by reason only that he or she is not satisfied as to the
matter referred to in subsection (1)(c)(i), contain a statement to the
effect that the lessee may, within the period of 12 months after the date of
service of the instrument, make an application for a licence in respect of one
or more of the blocks comprised in the lease.
(6) A lessee on whom
there has been served an instrument under subsection (1) may, within a
period of one month after the date of service of the instrument on the lessee,
by instrument in writing served on the Minister, request the Minister to grant
to the lessee the renewal of the lease.
(7) Where a lessee on
whom there has been served an instrument under subsection (1) has made a
request under subsection (6) within the period referred to in
subsection (6), the Minister must grant to the lessee the renewal of the
lease.
(8) Where a lessee on
whom there has been served an instrument under subsection (1) has not
made a request under subsection (6) within the period referred to in
subsection (6), the application lapses upon the expiration of that
period.
(9) Where—
(a) an
application for the renewal of a lease has been made; and
(b) the
lease expires—
(i)
before the Minister grants, or refuses to grant, the
renewal of the lease; or
(ii)
before the application lapses as provided by
subsection (8),
the lease shall be deemed to continue in force in all respects—
(c)
until the Minister grants, or refuses to grant, the renewal of the lease; or
(d)
until the application so lapses,
whichever first happens.
(10) Where the
Minister refuses to grant the renewal of a lease by reason only that the
Minister is not satisfied as to the matter referred to in
subsection (1)(c)(i), the lease shall be deemed to continue in force in
all respects—
(a) in a
case to which paragraph (b) does not apply—until 12 months after
the date of service of the instrument under subsection (2); or
(b) in a
case where the lessee makes an application for a licence in respect of one or
more of the blocks comprised in the lease within the period of 12 months after
the date referred to in paragraph (a)—until the Minister grants, or
refuses to grant, the licence or until the application lapses, whichever first
happens.