Petroleum Act 1936

Subject to this Act and the regulations, total or partial exemption from the covenants to work the land in respect of any petroleum lease may be granted for any period not exceeding in any one instance a period of six months in any year to the lessee, upon satisfactory proof by him that any of the following grounds exist:—

Time is required for the erection of machinery;

Scarcity of labour;

The death of the lessee or one of several joint lessees;

The lease is for some other cause temporarily unworkable;

The title to the lease is in dispute;

Want of capital after a fair sum has been spent on the lease in erection of machinery, or for work, labour and material;

Bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings against the lessee are pending.

For the purposes of this section, a year shall be the year commencing on the first day of January.