PETROLEUM AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY RESOURCES ACT 1967 - SECT 17
PETROLEUM AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY RESOURCES ACT 1967 - SECT 17
17 . Compensation to owners and occupiers of private land
(1) A permittee,
holder of a drilling reservation, lessee or licensee may agree with the owner
and occupier respectively of any private land comprised in the permit,
drilling reservation, lease or licence as to the amount of compensation to be
paid for the right to occupy the land.
(2) Subject to
subsections (3) and (5), the compensation to be made to the owner and occupier
shall be compensation for being deprived of the possession of the surface or
any part of the surface of the private land, and for damage to the surface of
the whole or any part thereof, and to any improvements thereon, which may
arise from the carrying on of operations thereon or thereunder, and for the
severance of such land from other land of the owner or occupier, and for
rights-of-way and for all consequential damages.
(3) In assessing the
amount of compensation no allowance shall be made to the owner or occupier for
any gold, minerals, petroleum, geothermal energy resources or geothermal
energy known or supposed to be on or under the land.
(4) If within such
time as may be prescribed the parties are unable to agree upon the amount of
compensation to be paid, either party may apply to the Magistrates Court at
the place nearest to where the land is situated to fix the amount of
compensation.
(5) In determining the
amount of compensation, the Court shall take into consideration the amount of
any compensation which the owner and occupier or either of them have or has
already received in respect of the damage for which compensation is being
assessed, and shall deduct the amount already so received from the amount
which they would otherwise be entitled to for such damage.
[Section 17 amended: No. 12 of 1990 s. 12; No. 78
of 1990 s. 7; No. 59 of 2004 s. 141; No. 35 of 2007 s. 15.]