Petroleum Act 1984

(2) After the date specified in the notice given under section 19(2), the Minister must consider the following:

(d) any other information supplied to the Minister as requested under section 16(5)(a);

(e) any other matter the Minister considers relevant to the application.

(3) The Minister must then determine whether to grant the exploration permit in respect of some or all of the blocks (including part or parts of a block) to which the application relates or refuse to grant the exploration permit.

(4) If the Minister determines to grant the exploration permit, the Minister must give the applicant a notice stating the following:

(a) the conditions subject to which the Minister is prepared to grant the exploration permit;

(b) the date, which must be at least 28 days after the date of the notice, when the application will lapse if the Minister has not received the applicant's written acceptance of those conditions.

(5) If the Minister receives the applicant's written acceptance of the conditions within the specified time, the Minister must grant the applicant the exploration permit subject to those conditions.

(6) If the Minister grants an exploration permit in respect of part only of the land to which the application relates, the application, unless the Minister expressly states otherwise when granting the exploration permit, remains in force in respect of the remainder of the land to which the application relates until the application is further dealt with under this Act.

(7) If the Minister determines to refuse to grant the exploration permit, the Minister must, as soon as practicable, give the applicant a notice of the determination stating the reasons for the determination.