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OFFSHORE PETROLEUM AND GREENHOUSE GAS STORAGE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2009

                                  2008-2009





               THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA








                        THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES







     OFFSHORE PETROLEUM AND GREENHOUSE GAS STORAGE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT
                                  BILL 2009






                    SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM



     Amendments and New Clauses to be moved on Behalf of the Government




   (Circulated by authority of the Minister for Resources and Energy, the
                     Honourable Martin Ferguson AM, MP)

 AMENDMENTS TO THE OFFSHORE PETROLEUM AND GREENHOUSE GAS STORAGE LEGISLATION
                             AMENDMENT BILL 2009


Outline


These government amendments add to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse
Gas Storage Legislation Amendment Bill 2009 (the Bill) a new Part 15 which
amends the greenhouse gas provisions of the Offshore Petroleum and
Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 ('the Act') that provide for approval and
registration of transfers of, and dealings in, petroleum titles.  The
affected parts of the Act are Part 4.3 (Transfer of titles), Part 4.6
(Dealings relating to existing titles) and Part 4.7 (Dealings in future
interests).


The purpose of the amendments is to correct an oversight in the provisions
establishing a process for enabling the responsible Commonwealth Minister
(RCM) to give a direction to the Designated Authority (DA) with respect to
the exercise of the DA's powers to approve and register transfers of, and
dealings in, petroleum titles.


The error was the failure to limit the class of petroleum titles to which
the new process was to apply.  The greenhouse gas amendments made by the
Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Act 2008 applied the
process to all petroleum titles, whereas the intention was that it would
apply only to petroleum titles that had a specified geographical
relationship to an existing greenhouse gas title.


These amendments:


    . define the class of petroleum titles to which the process applies;

    . confine the provisions that establish the process to transfers of, and
      dealings in, petroleum titles of that class; and

    . reduce the numbers of copies required to be lodged with other
      applications.

Financial impact statement


These government amendments will not have any financial impact on the
Australian Government Budget.



notes on individual clauses


(1) Clause 2, page 2 (at the end of the table)

Amendment (1) provides for these amendments to commence retrospectively,
immediately after the commencement of Part 1 of Schedule 4 to the Offshore
Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Act 2008 (ie immediately after
the commencement of the greenhouse gas amendments and the renumbering of
the whole Act).  The commencement date of the present amendments is
therefore 22 November 2008.


Because there are not yet any existing greenhouse gas titles (and so no
petroleum titles to which the new process was intended to apply) and
because compliance with the process in relation to all transfers and
dealings in petroleum titles would have involved a considerable (and
wasted) administrative effort both for the Commonwealth and the Designated
Authorities, the process has in fact not been followed in relation to the
many transfers and dealings that have been approved and registered by the
Designated Authorities since the greenhouse gas amendments came into force.
 The proposed amendments therefore need to be made retrospective, to cure
any technical defect in the approvals and registrations that might have
resulted from non-compliance with the process.


(2) Schedule 1, page 28 (after line 3), at the end of the Schedule 

Amendment (2) adds a new Part 15 to the Bill, headed 'Registration of
transfers of, and dealings in, petroleum titles'.  All amendments in Part
15 of the Bill are to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage
Act 2006.


Item 69  Section 7


Item 69 introduces the concept of a 'referable title'.  This is the class
of petroleum titles to which the process requirement was intended to apply.


Item 70  Section 467


Item 70 inserts a definition of 'referable title' into section 467.  A
'referable title' is a petroleum title the title area of which overlaps the
title area of a greenhouse gas title.  It makes no difference whether the
titles are held by the same, or different, title-holders.

Items 71 to 75 - Applications for approval of transfers of titles


Items 71 and 72


Item 71 confines to referable titles only the requirement in
paragraph 474(c) to provide 2 copies of the application and other
documents.  For other petroleum titles, under new paragraph 474(d),
inserted by item 72, the requirement reverts to 1 copy, as it was prior to
the greenhouse gas amendments.

Item 73


Item 73 confines to referable titles only the requirement in section 475
that the DA forward to the RCM a copy of the application for approval of a
transfer of title and related documents.

Items 74 and 75


Items 74 and 75 amend section 478 to confine to referable titles only:

    . the obligation of the DA to defer making a decision on an application
      until a direction or notification is received from the RCM;

    . the obligation of the DA to comply with a direction of the RCM; and

    . the power of the RCM to give a direction.

Items 76 to 83 - Applications for approval of dealings.


Items 76 to 80


Item 76 confines to referable titles only the requirement in
subsection 489(4) to provide 2 copies of the application and other
documents.  For other petroleum titles, item 78 inserts new
subsection 489(4A) under which the requirement reverts to 1 copy, as it was
prior to the greenhouse gas amendments.

Item 79 inserts a new paragraph (aa) to subsection 489(5), which confines
to referable titles only the requirement that 3 copies of documents lodged
under section 263 of the Corporations Act 2001 be provided.  For other
petroleum titles, item 80 adds new subsection 489(6) under which the
requirement reverts to 2 copies, as it was prior to the greenhouse gas
amendments.

Item 81


Item 81 confines to referable titles only the requirement in section 490
that the DA forward a copy of the application for approval of a dealing and
related documents to the RCM.

Items 82 and 83


Items 82 and 83 amend section 493 to confine to referable titles only:

    . the obligation of the DA to defer making a decision on an application
      for approval of a dealing until a direction or notification is
      received from the RCM;

    . the obligation of the DA to comply with a direction of the RCM; and

    . the power of the RCM to give a direction.




Items 84 to 88 - Provisional applications for approval of dealings in
future titles.


Items 84 to 87


Item 84 confines to referable titles only the requirement in
subsection 499(4) to provide 2 copies of the provisional application and
other documents.  For other petroleum titles, item 85 inserts new
subsection 499(4A) under which the requirement reverts to 1 copy, as it was
prior to the greenhouse gas amendments.

Item 86 inserts a new paragraph (aa) to subsection 499(5), which confines
to referable titles only the requirement that 3 copies of documents lodged
under section 263 of the Corporations Act 2001 be provided.  For other
petroleum titles, item 87 adds new subsection 499(6) under which the
requirement reverts to 2 copies, as it was prior to the greenhouse gas
amendments.


Item 88


Item 88 confines to referable titles the obligation to give a copy of the
application and other documents to the RCM.