PETROLEUM AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY RESOURCES ACT 1967 - SECT 5

PETROLEUM AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY RESOURCES ACT 1967 - SECT 5

5 .         Terms used

        (1)         In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —

        access authority means —

            (a)         a petroleum access authority; or

            (b)         a geothermal access authority;

        application for a primary licence means an application for the grant or variation of a petroleum production licence under section 50(1) or (2) or 50A(1) or (2) and primary licence means a licence granted on such an application;

        application for a secondary licence means an application under section 50(3) or 50A(3) and secondary licence means a licence granted on such an application;

        approved means approved by the Minister;

        approved development plan , in relation to a geothermal production licence, means the geothermal energy recovery development plan approved under section 62A that applies to the licence and includes that plan as varied under section 62B;

        Barrow Island lease has the meaning given in section 128;

        block means a block constituted as provided by section 27 or 135;

        boundary-change permit means a petroleum exploration permit granted under section 37B;

        Commonwealth Act means the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (Commonwealth);

        Commonwealth lease means a petroleum retention lease as defined in the Commonwealth Act section 7;

        Commonwealth licence means a fixed-term petroleum production licence as defined in the Commonwealth Act section 7;

        Commonwealth permit means a petroleum exploration permit as defined in the Commonwealth Act section 7;

        construct includes “place” and construction has a corresponding meaning;

        Crown land means all land in the State —

        [(a)         deleted]

            (b)         which has not been lawfully granted or contracted to be granted in fee simple; or

            (c)         which is not held under lease for any purpose except under —

                  (i)         a pastoral lease or a lease otherwise granted for grazing purposes only; or

            (ia)         a diversification lease; or

                  (ii)         a lease for timber purposes; or

                  (iii)         a lease for the use and benefit of the Aboriginal inhabitants,

                and includes —

            (d)         any land reserved, declared or otherwise dedicated under the Land Administration Act 1997 or any other written law; and

            (e)         without limiting paragraph (d), State forests and timber reserves within the meaning of the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 ; and

        [(f), (g)         deleted]

            (h)         all land between —

                  (i)         high and low-water mark on the sea shore and on the margin of tidal rivers; and

                  (ii)         low-water mark referred to in subparagraph (i) and the inner limit of the territorial sea of Australia;

        diversification lease has the meaning given in the Land Administration Act 1997 section 92B(1);

        document includes any map, book, record or writing;

        drilling reservation means —

            (a)         a petroleum drilling reservation; or

            (b)         a geothermal drilling reservation;

        facility means a structure for or in connection with carrying out a petroleum operation or geothermal energy operation;

        geothermal access authority means a geothermal access authority under Part III;

        geothermal drilling reservation means a geothermal drilling reservation referred to in section 43D(2);

        geothermal energy means thermal energy that results from natural geological processes and is contained in geothermal energy resources;

        geothermal energy operation means —

            (a)         an operation to explore for geothermal energy resources, and the carrying on of such operations and the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;

            (b)         an operation to drill for geothermal energy resources, and the carrying on of such operations and the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;

            (c)         an operation to recover geothermal energy, and the carrying on of such operations and the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;

            (d)         any other kind of operation that is prescribed by the regulations to be a geothermal energy operation for the purposes of this definition,

        but does not include an operation of a kind that is prescribed by the regulations not to be a geothermal energy operation for the purposes of this definition;

        geothermal energy resources means subsurface rock or other subterranean substances that contain geothermal energy and, where the context so requires, includes the geothermal energy contained in those resources;

        geothermal exploration permit means a permit that confers the authority referred to in section 38(2);

        geothermal lease area means the area constituted by the blocks that are the subject of a geothermal retention lease;

        geothermal lessee means the registered holder of a geothermal retention lease;

        geothermal licensee means the registered holder of a geothermal production licence;

        geothermal permit area means the area constituted by the blocks that are the subject of a geothermal exploration permit;

        geothermal permittee means the registered holder of a geothermal exploration permit;

        geothermal production licence means a geothermal production licence under Part III;

        geothermal resources area means a discrete area that contains geothermal energy resources;

        geothermal retention lease means a geothermal retention lease under Part III;

        geothermal special prospecting authority means a geothermal special prospecting authority under Part III;

        good oil-field practice means all those things that are generally accepted as good and safe in the carrying on of exploration for petroleum, or in the operations for the recovery of petroleum, as the case may be;

        granted , in relation to a boundary-change permit, a petroleum retention lease under section 48CD or a petroleum production licence under section 61A, means taken to have been granted;

        graticular section means a section referred to in section 27;

        holder of a drilling reservation means the registered holder of a drilling reservation;

        inspector means a person appointed under section 118;

        lease means —

            (a)         a petroleum retention lease; or

            (b)         a geothermal retention lease;

        lease area means the area constituted by the blocks that are the subject of a lease;

        lessee means the registered holder of a lease;

        licence means —

            (a)         a petroleum production licence; or

            (b)         a geothermal production licence;

        licence area means the area constituted by the blocks that are the subject of a licence;

        licensee means the registered holder of a licence;

        location means a block or blocks in respect of which a declaration under section 47 is in force;

        offshore area has the meaning given in the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982 section 4;

        oil shale includes naturally occurring hydrocarbons that are or may be contained in rocks from which they cannot be recovered otherwise than by mining those rocks as oil shale;

        operator —

            (a)         in relation to an operation to explore for petroleum or geothermal energy resources or the carrying on of such operations or the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose, in a permit area, means the registered holder of the permit for that area;

            (b)         in relation to an operation to drill for petroleum or geothermal energy resources or the carrying on of such operations or the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose, in a drilling reservation area, means the registered holder of the drilling reservation for that area;

            (c)         in relation to an operation to explore for petroleum or geothermal energy resources or the carrying on of such operations or the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose, in a lease area, means the registered holder of the lease for that area;

            (d)         in relation to —

                  (i)         an operation to recover petroleum or geothermal energy in a licence area or to recover petroleum or geothermal energy from a licence area in another area; or

                  (ii)         an operation to explore for petroleum or geothermal energy resources in a licence area; or

                  (iii)         the carrying on of such operations or the execution of such works in a licence area as are necessary for those purposes,

                means the registered holder of the licence for that area;

            (e)         in relation to an operation for the mining, obtaining or production of petroleum under the Barrow Island lease as renewed, substituted or varied, means the lessee as defined in section 128;

            (f)         in relation to a petroleum exploration operation or geothermal energy resources exploration operation specified in a special prospecting authority, means the registered holder of the special prospecting authority;

            (g)         in relation to a petroleum exploration operation or geothermal energy resources exploration operation or an operation related to the recovery of petroleum or geothermal energy in or from an area specified in an access authority, means the registered holder of the access authority;

            (h)         in relation to the injection of petroleum into a natural underground reservoir, means a person (other than the Minister) who is a party to an agreement under section 67(1), or who has the Minister’s approval under section 67(2), in respect of that injection;

                  (i)         in relation to the injection of carbon dioxide, as defined in section 3 of the Barrow Island Act 2003 , into an underground reservoir or other subsurface formation, means a person who has the BI Act Minister’s approval under section 13 of that Act, in respect of that injection;

            (j)         in relation to any other kind of operation that is prescribed by the regulations to be a petroleum operation for the purposes of the definition of petroleum operation , means the person prescribed by the regulations to be the operator of such a petroleum operation for the purposes of this definition;

            (k)         in relation to any other kind of operation that is prescribed by the regulations to be a geothermal energy operation for the purposes of the definition of geothermal energy operation , means the person prescribed by the regulations to be the operator of such a geothermal energy operation for the purposes of this definition;

        partly cancelled means — in relation to a permit, drilling reservation or licence — cancelled as to one or more but not all of the blocks the subject of the permit, drilling reservation or licence;

        partly determined , in relation to a permit, drilling reservation or lease, means determined as to one or more but not all of the blocks the subject of the permit, drilling reservation or lease;

        pastoral lease has the meaning given in the Land Administration Act 1997 section 3(1);

        permit means —

            (a)         a petroleum exploration permit; or

            (b)         a geothermal exploration permit;

        permit area means —

            (a)         a petroleum permit area; or

            (b)         a geothermal permit area;

        permittee means the registered holder of a permit;

        petroleum means —

            (a)         any naturally occurring hydrocarbon, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state; or

            (b)         any naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state; or

            (c)         any naturally occurring mixture of one or more hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state, and one or more of the following, that is to say, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen, helium and carbon dioxide,

        and includes any petroleum as defined by paragraph (a), (b) or (c) that has been returned to a natural reservoir, but excludes oil shale;

        petroleum access authority means a petroleum access authority under Part III;

        petroleum drilling reservation means a petroleum drilling reservation referred to in section 43D(1);

        petroleum exploration permit means a permit that confers the authority referred to in section 38(1);

        petroleum lease area means the area constituted by the blocks that are the subject of a petroleum retention lease;

        petroleum lessee means the registered holder of a petroleum retention lease;

        petroleum licensee means the registered holder of a petroleum production licence;

        petroleum operation means —

            (a)         an operation to explore for petroleum, and the carrying on of such operations and the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;

            (b)         an operation to drill for petroleum, and the carrying on of such operations and the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;

            (c)         an operation to recover petroleum, and the carrying on of such operations and the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;

            (d)         an operation for the mining, obtaining or production of petroleum under the Barrow Island lease as renewed, substituted or varied;

            (e)         the injection of petroleum into a natural underground reservoir;

            (f)         the injection of carbon dioxide, as defined in section 3 of the Barrow Island Act 2003 , into an underground reservoir or other subsurface formation;

            (g)         any other kind of operation that is prescribed by the regulations to be a petroleum operation for the purposes of this definition,

        but does not include an operation of a kind that is prescribed by the regulations not to be a petroleum operation for the purposes of this definition;

        petroleum permit area means the area constituted by the blocks that are the subject of a petroleum exploration permit;

        petroleum permittee means the registered holder of a petroleum exploration permit;

        petroleum pool means a naturally occurring discrete accumulation of petroleum;

        petroleum production licence means a petroleum production licence under Part III;

        petroleum retention lease means a petroleum retention lease under Part III;

        petroleum special prospecting authority means a petroleum special prospecting authority under Part III;

        primary entitlement means —

            (a)         in relation to a permittee, the number of blocks —

                  (i)         forming part of a location in the permit area in respect of which that permittee may make an application under section 50(1); or

                  (ii)         forming a location in the permit area in respect of which that permittee may make an application under section 50(1a);

                and

            (b)         in relation to a lessee, the number of blocks in the lease area in respect of which that lessee may make an application under section 50A(1) or (1a);

        private land means any land which has been or may hereafter be alienated from the Crown for any estate of freehold, or is or may hereafter be the subject of any conditional purchase agreement, or of any lease or concession with or without the right of acquiring the fee simple thereof, other than —

            (a)         a pastoral lease or a lease otherwise granted for grazing purposes only; or

            (aa)         a diversification lease; or

            (b)         a lease for timber purposes; or

            (c)         a lease for the use and benefit of the Aboriginal inhabitants;

        recovery , of geothermal energy, includes the recovery of any geothermal energy resources necessary to recover geothermal energy;

        Register means the Register kept by the Minister in pursuance of Division 4 of Part III;

        registered holder , in relation to a permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence, special prospecting authority or access authority, means the person whose name is for the time being shown in the Register as being the holder of the permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence, special prospecting authority or access authority;

        regulations means regulations made under section 153;

        relinquished area means —

            (a)         in relation to a permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence that has expired — the area constituted by the blocks in respect of which the permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence was in force but has not been renewed; and

            (b)         in relation to a permit, drilling reservation, or lease that has been wholly determined or partly determined — the area constituted by the blocks as to which the permit, drilling reservation or lease was so determined; and

            (c)         in relation to a permit, drilling reservation or licence that has been wholly cancelled or partly cancelled —the area constituted by the blocks as to which the permit, drilling reservation or licence was so cancelled; and

            (ca)         in relation to a lease that has been wholly cancelled — the area constituted by the blocks in respect of which the lease was in force; and

            (d)         in relation to a special prospecting authority or access authority that has been surrendered or cancelled or has expired — the area constituted by the blocks in respect of which that authority was in force;

        royalty period , in relation to a permit, drilling reservation or licence, means —

            (a)         the period from and including the date from which the permit, drilling reservation or licence has effect to the end of the month of the year during which that date occurs; and

            (b)         each month thereafter;

        royalty value has the meaning applicable under section 144A(1) or (2);

        special prospecting authority means —

            (a)         a petroleum special prospecting authority; or

            (b)         a geothermal special prospecting authority;

        structure means any fixed, moveable or floating structure or installation and includes a pipeline, pumping station, tank station and valve station;

        vessel means a vessel used in navigation, other than air navigation, and includes a barge or other vessel;

        well means a hole in the Earth’s crust made by drilling, boring or any other means in connection with exploration for petroleum or geothermal energy resources or operations for the recovery of petroleum or geothermal energy, but does not include a seismic shot hole;

        wholly cancelled , in relation to a permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence, means cancelled as to all the blocks the subject of the permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence;

        wholly determined , in relation to a permit, drilling reservation or lease, means determined as to all the blocks the subject of the permit, drilling reservation or lease.

        (2)         In this Act, a reference to the term of a permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence, special prospecting authority or access authority is a reference to the period during which the permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence, special prospecting authority or access authority remains in force and a reference to the date of expiration of a permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence, special prospecting authority or access authority is a reference to the day on which the permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence, special prospecting authority or access authority ceases to be in force.

        (3)         In this Act, a reference to a year of the term of a permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence is a reference to a period of one year commencing on the day on which the permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence, as the case may be, comes into force or on any anniversary of that day.

        (4)         In this Act, a reference to the renewal, or to the grant of a renewal, of a permit is a reference to the grant of a permit in respect of all or some of the blocks specified in the first-mentioned permit to commence on the day after the date of expiration of the first-mentioned permit or on the day after the date of expiration of the permit granted upon a previous renewal of the first-mentioned permit.

        (4a)         In this Act, a reference to the renewal, or to the grant of a renewal, of a lease is a reference to the grant of a lease in respect of the blocks in respect of which the first-mentioned lease was in force to commence on the day after the date of expiration of the first-mentioned lease or on the day after the date of expiration of the lease granted upon a previous renewal of the first-mentioned lease.

        (5)         In this Act, a reference to the renewal, or to the grant of a renewal, of a licence in respect of the blocks specified in the licence is a reference to the grant of a licence in respect of those blocks to commence on the day after the date of expiration of the first-mentioned licence or on the day after the date of expiration of the licence granted upon a previous renewal of the first-mentioned licence.

        (5a)         In this Act a reference to the extension of a drilling reservation in relation to the blocks specified in the drilling reservation is a reference to the grant of a drilling reservation in respect of those blocks to commence on the day after the date of expiration of the first-mentioned drilling reservation or on the day after the date of expiration of the previous extension, if any, of the first-mentioned drilling reservation.

        (6)         In this Act, a reference to a permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence or access authority is a reference to the permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence or access authority as varied for the time being under this Act.

        (6A)         In this Act, a reference to a lease for the use and benefit of the Aboriginal inhabitants includes a reference to a lease for the social, cultural or economic benefit of Aboriginal persons.

        (7)         Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1), the Minister for the time being charged with the administration of the Mining Act 1978 may, in the event of a dispute whether a particular substance is or is not oil shale, decide whether that substance is or is not oil shale for the purposes of this Act and the Mining Act 1978 and his decision in the matter shall be final.

        (8)         The power conferred by this Act to make, grant or issue any instrument shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions, if any, to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend or vary any such instrument.

        (9)         Notes in this Act are provided to assist understanding and do not form part of the Act.

        [Section 5 amended: No. 69 of 1981 s. 31; No. 12 of 1990 s. 5; No. 78 of 1990 s. 4; No. 11 of 1994 s. 4; No. 28 of 1994 s. 5; No. 31 of 1997 s. 141; No. 17 of 1999 s. 21; No. 13 of 2005 s. 4; No. 35 of 2007 s. 6 and 85; No. 42 of 2010 s. 4; No. 7 of 2017 s. 4; No. 36 of 2020 s. 300; No. 4 of 2023 s. 139.]