Petroleum Act 1923

This section does not apply to a lease that ends after 1 November 2021.

The lessee of a lease who has substantially complied with this Act and the 2004 Act, chapter 6, and the terms and conditions of the lease, in relation to that lease, at the expiration of the lease, is entitled, subject to subsection (2), to a renewal of the lease by the Minister.

However, subsection (1) only applies if—

the lease is a lease that has any number as follows—

1 to 18, inclusive;

21 to 93, inclusive;

98;

101;

115 to 117, inclusive;

204; or

the lease is prescribed under a regulation notified before 31 December 2004; or

the lease is not a lease mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) and, before 31 December 2004, a notice under the Commonwealth Native Title Act, section 29, was given for the renewal; or

a following agreement, whether made before or after the commencement of this paragraph, provides for the renewal of the lease under this Act and the negotiations for the agreement started before the 2004 Act start day—

an agreement mentioned in the Commonwealth Native Title Act, section 31(1)(b);

an indigenous land use agreement registered on the register of indigenous land use agreement under the Commonwealth Native Title Act.

A lessee referred to in subsection (1), before the expiration of the lease, is to by an application—

declare whether deposits of petroleum, that the lessee believes on reasonable grounds to be payable, exist within the land the subject of the lease; and

state whether or not the development plan for the lease has been complied with; andNote—For the program for development and production for a lease becoming its development plan, see section 156.

if the development plan for the lease has not been complied with—state details of, and the reasons for, each noncompliance.

The application must—

be in the approved form; and

include a proposed later development plan for the renewed lease; and

be accompanied by—

the application fee prescribed under a regulation; and

if the application is made less than 40 business days before the end of the term of the lease—an amount that is 10 times the application fee.

The proposed plan must comply with the later development plan requirements.

The renewed lease must be for a term no longer than the period nominated (with reasons for the nomination) by the lessee as an appropriate term for producing in an economically viable way the petroleum from the fields within the land the subject of the lease.

The law relating to the amount and payment of royalties and of rent in force at the time of renewal applies to the renewed lease.