Petroleum Act 1936

Every licensee and lessee shall maintain all apparatus and appliances and all wells capable of producing petroleum on the land comprised in his license or lease in good repair and condition and shall execute all mining operations on the land in a proper and workmanlike manner, in accordance with methods and practice customarily used in good oil field practice, and, particularly, shall take all practical steps in order —

to control the flow and to prevent the escape or waste of petroleum discovered in or found on the said land;

to preserve the said land for production operations;

to prevent damage to adjacent petroleum-bearing strata;

to prevent the entrance of water through wells to petroleum-bearing strata ; and

to prevent the escape of petroleum into any water well, spring, stream, river, lake, reservoir, estuary, or harbour.

Every licensee and lessee shall comply with any directions from time to time given to him in writing by the Minister relating to any of the matters mentioned in subsection (1) hereof.