Natural Gas Authority Act 1967

This Act may be cited as the Natural Gas Authority Act 1967.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

adjustment period means a period commencing on the commencement of Part 4 and ending on a date fixed by proclamation;

asset means—

a present, contingent or future legal or equitable estate or interest in real or personal property; or

a present, contingent or future right, power, privilege or immunity;

Authority means the body corporate established as the Pipelines Authority of South Australia which continues in existence as the Natural Gas Authority of South Australia;

designated pipeline means the Moomba-Adelaide pipeline or the Katnook pipeline;

Katnook pipeline means the Katnook natural gas pipeline (including all branches and laterals) delineated in Schedule 2;

land includes any estate or interest in land and any easement, right, power or privilege in, under, over, affecting, or in connection with, land;

liability means a present, contingent or future liability or obligation (including a non-pecuniary obligation);

Minister in the context of a particular provision means—

a Minister to whom the relevant Ministerial function has been specifically assigned by the Governor; or

if the relevant Ministerial function has not been specifically assigned to a particular Minister, the Minister for the time being responsible for the administration of this Act;

Moomba-Adelaide pipeline means the Moomba-Adelaide pipeline (including all branches and laterals) delineated in Schedule 2;

operator of a pipeline means the body corporate1 licensed under the Petroleum Act 1940 to operate the pipeline;

outlying land in relation to a pipeline, means all land that is outside the boundaries of the servient land but within 5 kilometres of the centreline of the pipeline (measured in a horizontal plane to each side of the centreline at right angles to the centreline);

petroleum means—

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

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

any naturally occurring mixture of one or more hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state, whether or not occurring with or in combination with other substances; or

any hydrocarbon or mixture of hydrocarbons produced by the refining of a substance referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this definition; or

any mixture of a hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons so produced with another substance or other substances; or

any prescribed substance or prescribed mixture of substances;

pipeline means a pipe or system of pipes for conveying petroleum or any derivative thereof and includes all apparatus and equipment incidental thereto or used or intended to be used in connection therewith;

pipeline lease means a perpetual lease granted under section 26;

servient land means land subject to the statutory easement created under Part 4;

transferred asset means an asset transferred to a purchaser under Part 5;

transferred liability means a liability transferred to a purchaser under Part 5.

Note—

1 The operator of a pipeline must be a body corporate—See Petroleum Act 1940, section 80D(7).

Note—

For definition of divisional penalties (and divisional expiation fees) see Appendix.

The Authority continues as the Natural Gas Authority of South Australia.

The Authority is a body corporate.

The Authority has the legal capacity of a natural person of full age and capacity.

The Authority has a common seal.

The common seal may be affixed to a document on the Minister's authority.

A document apparently bearing the common seal of the Authority will be presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have been duly executed by the Authority.

The Authority is constituted of the Minister.

The Authority holds its property for and on behalf of the Crown.

The Authority has the following functions:

to buy and sell petroleum;

to convey and deliver petroleum to a purchaser;

to complete outstanding obligations incurred before the commencement of this section (including obligations relating to the construction, maintenance and operation of pipelines);

to do anything incidental to the above.

A statutory easement exists in favour of the owner of the Moomba-Adelaide pipeline.

A statutory easement exists in favour of the owner of the Katnook pipeline.

A statutory easement is an easement in gross that does not depend on the existence of a dominant tenement.

Subject to the terms of any transaction entered into by the owner of a pipeline with the Minister's consent, the statutory easement cannot be dealt with independently of the pipeline to which it relates and attaches to the owner in that capacity (and hence if there is a change of ownership, the new owner of the pipeline becomes the proprietor of the statutory easement without conveyance).

[If the Minister approves, the owner of the pipeline may make a partial surrender of the statutory easement by written notice of surrender given to the Minister accompanied by surveys and other documents that the Minister may require. On surrender, the boundaries of the servient land are modified to accord with the surrender. If the owner of the pipeline acquires an easement adjacent to the servient land, the easement is, if the Minister approves, subsumed under the statutory easement and the boundaries of the servient land are modified accordingly.]

The land subject to a statutory easement (the servient land) extends—

for the whole length of the pipeline as shown in the map and descriptions in Schedule 2; and

from the centreline of the pipeline on both sides of the pipeline for the distances specified in Schedule 2.

The servient land also includes other land over which the Authority held an easement for the purposes of the pipeline immediately before the commencement of this Part.

The boundaries of the servient land are fixed (subject to any transaction that may affect the boundaries) as at the commencement of this Part.

However—

the Minister may, by instrument in writing signed before the end of the adjustment period, vary the boundaries of the statutory easement (with retrospective effect so that the statutory easement is, on its creation, subject to the variation) to avoid conflicts (or possible conflicts) between the rights conferred by the easement and other rights and interests; and

if a building, structure or fixture not associated with the operation of the pipeline was lawfully built on or affixed to the servient land before the commencement of this Part, the land on which the building, structure or fixture stands is not part of the servient land.

A copy of an instrument under subsection (4)(a) must be published in the Gazette.

The statutory easement entitles the owner of the pipeline—

to install, maintain and operate a pipeline or pipelines across the servient land; and

to carry out an authorised purpose on the servient land; and

if associated equipment had, before the commencement of this Part, been installed on outlying land—to maintain the associated equipment (or associated equipment of the same kind) on that land and to carry out authorised purposes related to the associated equipment; and

to install and maintain associated equipment necessary for cathodic protection, electricity supply or water supply on outlying land, to carry out authorised purposes related to the associated equipment, and to carry out work on outlying land related to the installation, maintenance, repair or replacement of a pipeline across the servient land; and

to obtain water necessary for domestic requirements from a natural source, a reservoir or bore (but not if the natural source, reservoir or bore is on freehold land).

[The Petroleum Act 1940 requires a pipeline licence for the construction or operation of a pipeline (See section 80D). The rights conferred by the statutory easement do not derogate from that requirement. Hence, the owner of the pipeline may only exercise rights conferred by the statutory easement (insofar as they relate to the construction or operation of a pipeline) if the owner of the pipeline itself holds a pipeline licence or acts through an agent that holds a pipeline licence. If the operator of the pipeline is not the owner or an agent of the owner, the owner may delegate powers under the statutory easement to the operator.]

Any associated equipment installed on or under the servient or outlying land for the purposes of this section remains the property of the owner of the pipeline.

An authorised purpose is one or more of the following purposes:

to install (or re-install) a pipeline and associated equipment;

to operate a pipeline or associated equipment;

to inspect a pipeline or associated equipment and monitor its operation;

to carry out maintenance work on a pipeline or associated equipment;

to extend, alter, repair or replace a pipeline or associated equipment;

to remove a pipeline or associated equipment.

Associated equipment means equipment associated with the operation of the pipeline including—

cathodic protection equipment; and

equipment for transmission of electricity; and

equipment for providing water supply; and

fences and other protective structures and devices; and

telecommunications equipment.

An agent, contractor, or employee authorised by the owner of the pipeline may do anything (including work involving disturbance of land) authorised by the statutory easement and, for the purpose of doing so, may, at any time (with or without motor vehicles and other equipment), enter and pass over the servient land, outlying land and other land on either side of the pipeline over which it is reasonably necessary to pass to gain access to the servient land, outlying land or a natural source of water, a reservoir or a bore.

The owner of the pipeline is liable for compensation as follows:

if associated equipment necessary for cathodic protection, electricity supply or water supply is installed on outlying land, or authorised purposes related to the associated equipment are carried out on outlying land, under subsection (1)(d), the occupier of the land is entitled to reasonable compensation from the owner of the pipeline for interference with the use or enjoyment of the land; and

if water is taken under subsection (1)(e), the person who would otherwise be entitled to the water is entitled to reasonable compensation from the owner of the pipeline.

The amount of the compensation is to be fixed by agreement or, in default of agreement, by the Magistrates Court.

The statutory easement extinguishes other easements and subleases in favour of the Authority to the extent the other easements or subleases relate to the servient land.

However—

a public right of way is not extinguished by the statutory easement; and

rights related to the pipeline subject to Pipeline Licence No. 2 under the Petroleum Act 1940 are preserved but the preserved rights do not limit or fetter the following rights under the statutory easement—

the right to maintain a designated pipeline (and associated equipment) in the position in which it was immediately before the commencement of this Part; and

the right to operate the pipeline (and associated equipment); and

the right to repair the pipeline or associated equipment or replace it with a new pipeline or new associated equipment in the same position; and

if an instrument that created an easement that is extinguished under subsection (1) contained a covenant indemnifying other persons interested in the land that was subject to the easement against loss or damage, the covenant continues in force but may be enforced only against the owner of the pipeline as at the time when the cause of action for the indemnity arose.

If an easement that is registered under the Real Property Act 1886 is extinguished under this section, the Registrar-General must, on application by the Minister or any other interested person, cancel the registration of the easement.

A dedication of land of the Crown made before the commencement of this Part is, to the extent that it relates to the servient land, revoked.

A licence or permit granted by or on behalf of the Crown, a statutory authority, or a council to permit the installation, maintenance or operation of a pipeline on its land is, to the extent the licence or permit relates to the servient land, revoked.

The Registrar-General must, on application by the Authority, note the statutory easement on each certificate of title, or Crown lease, affected by the easement.

An application under this section—

need not include a plan of the statutory easement; but

must include a schedule of all certificates of title and Crown leases affected by the easement.

The Registrar-General is entitled to act on the basis of information included in the application and is not obliged to do anything to verify the accuracy of that information.