Petroleum Act 1936

A petroleum lease of whatever nature shall contain the following reservations, covenants, and conditions, namely:—

A reservation of power to authorise mining on the land under the provisions of the Mining Act 1904, for any purpose other than the production or obtaining of petroleum but not such as to interfere with, encroach upon or endanger the petroleum operations;

A covenant by the lessee to pay rent in the amount, in the manner, and at the times provided in this Act or the regulations;

A covenant by the lessee to pay in respect of petroleum produced or obtained from the land royalty as assessed under and in accordance with the provisions of section 71 of this Act;

A covenant by the lessee to work the land in accordance with recognized oilfield practice and in compliance with the regulations, unless exemption or partial exemption is granted in such manner as may be prescribed;

A covenant by the lessee that so long as any petroleum or any product thereof obtained from any land held by him under the petroleum lease, can be consumed in Australia, he shall, if so required by the Minister, ensure that that petroleum and product thereof shall be disposed of only consumption in Australia;

A covenant by the lessee that, if so required by the Minister, the lessee shall, at his option, refine or cause to be refined, or offer for sale for refining —

in the State within a time to be mutually agreed between the Minister and the lessee; or

elsewhere in Australia —

A covenant by the lessee to comply with this Act and the regulations;

A covenant by the lessee, unless prevented from doing so by circumstances beyond the power and control of the lessee, to use the land continuously and bona fide exclusively for the purpose for which it is demised and in accordance with this Act and the regulations;

A covenant by the lessee not to assign, underlet, or part with the possession of the land or any part thereof without the previous consent in writing of the Minister, or an officer acting with his authority which consent shall not be reasonably withheld;

A condition for the forfeiture of the lease in the event of any breach of any covenant or condition by the lessee and the failure of the lessee to remedy the same within 90 days after the Minister shall have given to the lessee notice in writing to make good the same;

When an application for a petroleum lease has been approved, and notwithstanding that the lease instrument has not been executed, and whether or not the applicant shall have entered upon the land as provided for in section 61 of this Act, the applicant and his assigns shall be deemed to have entered into the covenants and to have accepted the reservations and conditions provided for in subsection one hereof, and shall in all respects be bound thereby.

For the purposes of this section, the expression “Australia” includes the whole of the Commonwealth of Australia, including any territory governed by the Commonwealth of Australia under mandate or trusteeship.