PETROLEUM AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY RESOURCES ACT 1967 - SECT 106

PETROLEUM AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY RESOURCES ACT 1967 - SECT 106

106 .         Access authorities

        (1)         A petroleum permittee, holder of a petroleum drilling reservation, petroleum lessee, petroleum licensee or holder of a petroleum special prospecting authority may make an application to the Minister for the grant of a petroleum access authority to enable him to carry on, in an area being part of the State that is not part of the permit area, drilling reservation, lease area or licence area or area of the blocks specified in the special prospecting authority, petroleum exploration operations or operations related to the recovery of petroleum in or from the permit area, drilling reservation, lease area or licence area or area of the blocks so specified.

        (1a)         A holder of a petroleum title outside the State may make an application to the Minister for the grant of a petroleum access authority to enable the holder to carry on, in a part of the State, petroleum exploration operations or operations related to the recovery of petroleum in or from the area to which that petroleum title relates.

        (1b)         A person who is a geothermal permittee, holder of a geothermal drilling reservation, geothermal lessee, geothermal licensee or holder of a geothermal special prospecting authority may make an application to the Minister for the grant of a geothermal access authority to enable the person to carry on, in an area being part of the State that is not part of the permit area, drilling reservation, lease area or licence area or area of the blocks specified in the special prospecting authority, geothermal energy resources exploration operations or operations related to the recovery of geothermal energy in or from the permit area, drilling reservation, lease area or licence area or area of the blocks so specified.

        (1c)         A holder of a geothermal title outside the State may make an application to the Minister for the grant of a geothermal access authority to enable the holder to carry on, in a part of the State, geothermal energy resources exploration operations or operations related to the recovery of geothermal energy in or from the area to which that geothermal title relates.

        (2)         An application under this section —

        [(a)         deleted]

            (b)         shall be made in an approved manner; and

            (c)         shall specify the operations that the applicant proposes to carry on and the area in which the applicant proposes to carry on those operations; and

            (d)         may set out any other matters that the applicant wishes the Minister to consider.

        (3)         The Minister may —

            (a)         if he is satisfied that it is necessary or desirable to do so for the more effective exercise of the rights, or for the proper performance of the duties, of a permittee, holder of a drilling reservation, lessee, licensee or holder of a special prospecting authority, petroleum title or geothermal title who has made an application under this section, grant to him an access authority subject to such conditions as the Minister thinks fit and specifies in the access authority; and

            (b)         at any time, by instrument in writing served on the registered holder of an access authority so granted, vary the access authority.

        (4)         Subject to subsection (5A), the Minister shall not —

            (aa)         grant a petroleum access authority on an application under this section in respect of a block that is the subject of a petroleum exploration permit, petroleum drilling reservation, petroleum retention lease, petroleum production licence or petroleum special prospecting authority of which the registered holder is a person other than the applicant, or vary a petroleum access authority as in force in respect of a block that is the subject of a petroleum exploration permit, petroleum drilling reservation, petroleum retention lease, petroleum production licence or petroleum special prospecting authority of which the registered holder is a person other than the registered holder of the access authority; or

            (bb)         grant a geothermal access authority on an application under this section in respect of a block that is the subject of a geothermal exploration permit, geothermal drilling reservation, geothermal retention lease, geothermal production licence or geothermal special prospecting authority of which the registered holder is a person other than the applicant, or vary a geothermal access authority as in force in respect of a block that is the subject of a geothermal exploration permit, geothermal drilling reservation, geothermal retention lease, geothermal production licence or geothermal special prospecting authority of which the registered holder is a person other than the registered holder of the access authority,

                unless —

            (a)         he has, by instrument in writing served on that person, given not less than one month’s notice of his intention to grant, or vary, as the case may be, the access authority; and

            (b)         he has served a copy of the instrument —

                  (i)         on such other persons, if any, as he thinks fit; and

                  (ii)         in a case where he intends to vary an access authority — on the registered holder of the access authority;

                and

            (c)         he has, in the instrument —

                  (i)         given particulars of the access authority proposed to be granted, or of the variation proposed to be made, as the case may be; and

                  (ii)         specified a date on or before which a person on whom the instrument, or a copy of the instrument, is served may, by instrument in writing served on the Minister, submit any matters that he wishes the Minister to consider;

                and

            (d)         he has taken into account any matters so submitted to him on or before the specified date by a person on whom the first-mentioned instrument, or a copy of that instrument, has been served.

        (5A)         Subsection (4) does not apply if the holder of the permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence or special prospecting authority has consented in writing to the grant of the access authority.

        (5)         An access authority, while it remains in force, authorises the holder, subject to this Act and in accordance with the conditions to which the access authority is subject, to carry on, in the area specified in the access authority, the operations so specified.

        (6)         Nothing in an access authority authorises the holder to make a well other than a deviation well into an adjacent permit area, drilling reservation, lease area or licence area held by him under this Act or, in the case of a petroleum access authority, the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982 .

        (7)         An access authority comes into force on the day specified for the purpose in the access authority and, unless surrendered or cancelled, remains in force for such period as is so specified but may be extended by the Minister for a further specified period.

        (8)         An access authority —

            (a)         may be surrendered by the holder at any time by instrument in writing served on the Minister; and

            (b)         may be cancelled by the Minister at any time by instrument in writing served on the holder and on any person in whose permit area, drilling reservation, lease area or licence area operations may be carried on in pursuance of the access authority.

        (9)         Where an access authority has been surrendered or cancelled or has expired, the Minister may, by instrument in writing served on the person who was the holder of the access authority, direct that person to do any one or more of the following things —

            (a)         to remove or cause to be removed from the relinquished area all property brought into that area by any person engaged or concerned in the operations authorised by the access authority or to make arrangements that are satisfactory to the Minister with respect to that property; and

            (b)         subject to this Part and to the regulations, to make provision, to the satisfaction of the Minister, for the conservation and protection of the natural resources in that area; and

            (c)         to make good, to the satisfaction of the Minister, any damage to the Earth’s crust in that area caused by any person engaged or concerned in those operations.

        (10)         A person to whom a direction is given under subsection (9) shall comply with the direction.

        Penalty: a fine of $10 000.

        (11)         The holder of an access authority shall, if the access authority is in force in respect of an area that consists of, or includes, a block that is the subject of a permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence of which he is not the registered holder, furnish to the registered holder of that permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence, within 28 days after the end of each month during which the access authority is in force in respect of that block, a full report, in writing, of the operations (not being operations related to the recovery of petroleum or geothermal energy by means of a deviation well referred to in subsection (6)) carried on in that block during that month and a summary of the facts ascertained from those operations.

        Penalty: a fine of $5 000.

        (12)         Section 102 applies to and in relation to an access authority as if —

            (a)         a reference in that section to a permit were a reference to an access authority; and

            (b)         a reference in that section to a direction or an arrangement under section 101 were a reference to a direction or an arrangement under subsection (9).

        (13)         In this section —

        geothermal title means an authority, however described, under a law of the Commonwealth, of another State or of the Northern Territory to explore for geothermal energy resources or to recover geothermal energy;

        petroleum title means an authority, however described, under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982 or a law of the Commonwealth, of another State or of the Northern Territory to explore for, or to recover, petroleum.

        [Section 106 amended: No. 12 of 1990 s. 86; No. 78 of 1990 s. 7; No. 28 of 1994 s. 46; No. 13 of 2005 s. 16(2); No. 35 of 2007 s. 67; No. 42 of 2010 s. 49 and 62(15).]