Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982

A permittee or licensee may make an application to the Minister for the grant of an access authority to enable the permittee or licensee to carry on in an area, being part of the adjacent area that is not part of the permit area or licence area, petroleum exploration operations or operations related to the recovery of petroleum in or from the permit area or licence area.

An application under this section—

shall be in accordance with an approved form; and

shall be made in an approved manner; and

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

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

The Minister may—

if the Minister 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 or licensee who has made an application under this section, grant to the permittee or licensee an access authority subject to such conditions as the Minister thinks fit and specifies in the access authority; and

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

The Minister shall not grant an access authority on an application under this section in respect of a block that is the subject of a permit or licence of which the registered holder is a person other than the applicant, or vary an access authority as in force in respect of a block that is the subject of a permit or licence of which the registered holder is a person other than the registered holder of the access authority, unless—

the Minister has, by instrument in writing served on that person, given not less than 1 month’s notice of the Minister’s intention to grant or vary, as the case may be, the access authority; and

the Minister has served a copy of the instrument—

on such other persons (if any) as the Minister thinks fit; and

in a case where the Minister intends to vary an access authority—on the registered holder of the access authority; and

the Minister has, in the instrument—

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

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 the person wishes the Minister to consider; and

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

An access authority, while it remains in force, authorises the holder, subject to this Act and the regulations 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.

Nothing in an access authority authorises the holder to make a well.

An access authority has effect from and including 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 period.

An access authority—

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

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 or licence area operations may be carried on in pursuance of the access authority.

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 1 or more of the following things—

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;

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;

to make good, to the satisfaction of the Minister, any damage to the seabed or subsoil in that area caused by any person engaged or concerned in those operations.

A person to whom a direction is given under subsection (9) shall comply with the direction.Maximum penalty—135 penalty units.

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 or licence of which the holder is not the registered holder, furnish to the registered holder of that permit 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 carried on in that block during that month and of the facts ascertained from those operations.Maximum penalty—70 penalty units.

Section 108 applies to and in relation to an access authority as if—

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

a reference in that section to a direction or an arrangement under section 107 were a reference to a direction or an arrangement under subsection (9).