Cooper Basin (Ratification) Act 1975

This Act may be cited as the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Act 1975.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

AGL Letter of Agreement means the letter of agreement entered into on 26 May 1971 between The Australian Gas Light Company of the one part and Alliance Petroleum Australia NL, Basin Oil NL, Bridge Oil Ltd (formerly Bridge Oil NL), Delhi International Oil Corporation, Pursuit Oil NL, Reef Oil NL, Santos Ltd, Total Exploration Australia Pty Ltd, and Vamgas NL of the other part and includes all agreements supplementing or amending that agreement—

that were made before the commencement of the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Amendment Act 2003; or

that are authorised or ratified by an Act; or

that are submitted to, and approved by, the Minister as being of only minor significance;

authorised agreement—each of the following is an authorised agreement:

the Indenture;

the Liquids Agreement;

the AGL Letter of Agreement;

the Fixed Factor Settlement Agreement;

the Right of Way Agreement;

the Unit Agreement;

the Downstream Agreement;

Pipeline Licence No 2;

each of the Liquids Sales Contracts;

Downstream Agreement means the agreement made on 31 December 1981 between Alliance Petroleum Australia NL, Basin Oil NL, Bridge Oil Ltd, Bridge Oil Developments Pty Ltd, Crusader Resources NL, Delhi Petroleum Pty Ltd, Reef Oil NL, Santos Ltd, South Australian Oil and Gas Corporation Pty Ltd, Total Exploration Australia Pty Ltd, and Vamgas Ltd and includes all agreements supplementing or amending that agreement—

that were made before the commencement of the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Amendment Act 2003; or

that are authorised or ratified by an Act; or

that are submitted to, and approved by, the Minister as being of only minor significance;

Fixed Factor Settlement Agreement means the agreement dated 5 December 1996 between Santos Ltd, Delhi Petroleum Pty Ltd, Santos Petroleum Pty Ltd, Boral Energy Resources Ltd, Vamgas Pty Ltd, Crusader Resources NL, Bridge Oil Developments Pty Ltd, Santos (BOL) Pty Ltd, Reef Oil Pty Ltd, Alliance Petroleum Australia Pty Ltd, and Basin Oil NL and includes all instruments supplementing or amending that agreement—

that were made before the commencement of the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Amendment Act 2003; or

that are authorised or ratified by an Act; or

that are submitted to, and approved by, the Minister as being of only minor significance;

Indenture means the indenture a copy of which is set out in the Schedule and includes appendices forming part of that indenture and, subject to section 5, includes that indenture as amended;

liquids means any product (as defined in the Liquids Agreement) to which the Liquids Agreement relates;

Liquids Agreement means the Stony Point (Liquids Project) Indenture;

Liquids Sales Contracts means the contracts for or in relation to the sale of liquids made by the Producers or any one or more of them before the commencement of the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Amendment Act 2003 and includes all instruments supplementing or amending any such contract—

that were made before the commencement of the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Amendment Act 2003; or

that are authorised or ratified by an Act; or

that are submitted to, and approved by, the Minister as being of only minor significance;

party includes an agent, successor or assign of a party;

Pipeline Licence No 2 means the pipeline licence referred to in the Liquids Agreement as Pipeline Licence No 2;

Right of Way Agreement means the agreement referred to in the Liquids Agreement as the PASA and Producers (Right of Way) Agreement and includes all instruments supplementing or amending that agreement—

that were made before the commencement of the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Amendment Act 2003; or

that are authorised or ratified by an Act; or

that are submitted to, and approved by, the Minister as being of only minor significance;

Unit Agreement means the agreement entered into on 21 December 1976 between Alliance Petroleum Australia NL, Basin Oil NL, Bridge Oil Ltd, Delhi International Oil Corporation, Pursuit Oil NL, Reef Oil NL, Santos Ltd and Vamgas NL and includes all agreements supplementing or amending that agreement (including supplementary or amending agreements to which a person who is not a party to the principal agreement is a party)—

that were made before the commencement of the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Amendment Act 2003; or

that are authorised or ratified by an Act; or

that are submitted to, and approved by, the Minister as being of only minor significance.

Where an expression used in this Act is defined in Clause 1 of the Indenture that expression shall, for the purposes of this Act and unless the contrary intention appears, bear the meaning assigned to it by that clause.

It is the intention of the Parliament that this Act, so far as it lawfully may, shall be held and construed as applying to the Commonwealth and any agency, instrumentality or authority of the Commonwealth in so far as the Commonwealth or any such agency, instrumentality or authority is or becomes a party to the Indenture.

The Petroleum Act 1940 shall apply and have effect to and in relation to the Indenture and to any matter or thing arising thereunder as if there were inserted in subsection (1) of section 6 of that Act after paragraph (iii) of that subsection the following passage:

or

the Commonwealth, or any agency, instrumentality or authority of the Commonwealth.

The Petroleum Act 1940 shall apply and have effect to and in relation to the Indenture and in any matter or thing arising thereunder as if there were inserted in section 41 of that Act after paragraph (c) the following passage:

and

if made by the Commonwealth, any agency, instrumentality or authority of the Commonwealth—be signed by such person as the Minister requires.

The Petroleum Act 1940 shall apply and have effect to and in relation to the Indenture and any matter or thing arising thereunder as if the expression "person" therein extended to include a reference to the Commonwealth and any agency, instrumentality or authority of the Commonwealth.

No agreement, made on or after the commencement of this Act, purporting to amend the Indenture shall, for the purposes of this Act, have any force or effect until it has been ratified by an Act.

Any Act that ratifies an agreement referred to in subsection (1) of this section may provide that the agreement shall be deemed to have been ratified on a day that occurred before the day on which that Act was enacted.

The Indenture is hereby approved and ratified.

The Premier, the Minister and the Government of the State are hereby authorised, empowered and required to do all things necessary or expedient for the carrying out of and the giving of full effect to the Indenture.

For the purposes of giving effect to subclause (1) of clause 4 of the Indenture and, notwithstanding any Act or law to the contrary the Governor may grant—

an estate in fee simple over the land referred to in that subclause as being delineated in red on the plans annexed to the Indenture as Appendix "A" thereof; and

the easements and rights referred to in that subclause.

To the extent and only to the extent necessary to give effect to the expressed intent of subclause (2) of clause 4 of the Indenture and notwithstanding any Act or law to the contrary every Act or law of the State shall apply and have effect as if the buildings, structures, improvements, plant, equipment and other property referred to in that subclause were chattels.

Notwithstanding anything in the Petroleum Act 1940 and in lieu of or substitution for any other petroleum production licence under that Act, the Minister is, by this section, authorised to—

grant to the Producers referred to in subclause (1) of clause 6 of the Indenture a licence under that Act of the kind and in the form of or to the effect set out in Appendix "B" to the Indenture or in such other form as may be agreed between the Minister and the Producers in order to implement or otherwise give effect, from time to time, to the provisions of the Unit Agreement; and

approve the grant of sub-licences in the form of or to the effect set out in Appendix "B" to the Indenture or in such other form as may be agreed between the Minister and the Producers in order to implement or otherwise give effect, from time to time, to the provisions of the Unit Agreement, and that Act shall, subject to this Act, apply and have effect accordingly.

However—

an application for a petroleum production licence made between 30 October 1997 and 27 February 1999 was required to meet the criteria established by sections 27 and 28 of the Petroleum Act 1940; and

no further licence or approval has been, or will be, granted under this section in respect of an application made after 27 February 1999 (but this paragraph does not affect the renewal of a licence or approval granted in respect of an application made before that date).

Section 36(1a) of the Petroleum Act 1940 applies and has effect to and in relation to the areas the subject of any licence under that Act the grant of which is authorised under this Act, as if those areas were contiguous areas.

Subsection (3) of section 36 of the Petroleum Act 1940 shall apply and have effect to or in relation to the areas the subject of any licence under that Act, the grant of which is authorised by this Act, as if those areas were an area comprised in a licence.

In the application of the Petroleum Act 1940 to or in relation to any licence granted under that Act, the grant of which is authorised by this Act, paragraphs (a) and (b) of subclause (6) of clause 6 of the Indenture shall apply and have effect as if they were, mutatis mutandis, enacted in that Act.

In addition to and not in derogation from the relevant right conferred on the licensees of licences under the Petroleum Act 1940, the grant of which are authorised by this Act, those licences shall confer on the licensees a right to construct and maintain all facilities being pipelines, pumping stations, tanks and roads as are necessary for the operations to be conducted under the Unit Agreement with respect to any area within the Subject Area not then comprised in any such licence.

In this section—

the relevant right means the right conferred under section 33 of the Petroleum Act 1940.

Notwithstanding any Act or law to the contrary—

the imposition or levying of any rate, tax, impost or other charge in contravention of subclause (1) of clause 7 of the Indenture; or

the imposition of any rate, tax, levy, impost or other charge in contravention of subclause (2) of clause 7 of the Indenture, shall be void and of no effect.