Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) In this Act,
unless the contrary intention appears —
access authority means —
(a) a
petroleum access authority; or
(b) a
geothermal access authority;
application for a primary licence means an
application for the grant or variation of a petroleum production licence under
section 50(1) or (2) or 50A(1) or (2) and primary licence means a
licence granted on such an application;
application for a secondary licence means an
application under section 50(3) or 50A(3) and secondary licence means a
licence granted on such an application;
approved means approved by the Minister;
approved development plan , in relation to a
geothermal production licence, means the geothermal energy recovery
development plan approved under section 62A that applies to the licence
and includes that plan as varied under section 62B;
Barrow Island lease has the meaning given in
section 128;
block means a block constituted as provided by
section 27 or 135;
construct includes “place” and
construction has a corresponding meaning;
Crown land means all land in the
State —
[(a) deleted]
(b)
which has not been lawfully granted or contracted to be granted in fee simple;
or
(c)
which is not held under lease for any purpose except under —
(i)
a pastoral lease within the meaning of the
Land Administration Act 1997 , or a lease otherwise granted for grazing
purposes only; or
(ii)
a lease for timber purposes; or
(iii)
a lease for the use and benefit of the Aboriginal
inhabitants,
and includes —
(d) any
land reserved, declared or otherwise dedicated under the Land Administration
Act 1997 or any other written law; and
(e)
without limiting paragraph (d), State forests and timber reserves within
the meaning of the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 ; and
[(f), (g) deleted]
(h) all
land between —
(i)
high and low-water mark on the sea shore and on the
margin of tidal rivers; and
(ii)
low-water mark referred to in subparagraph (i) and
the inner limit of the territorial sea of Australia;
document includes any map, book, record or
writing;
drilling reservation means —
(a) a
petroleum drilling reservation; or
(b) a
geothermal drilling reservation;
facility means a structure for or in connection
with carrying out a petroleum operation or geothermal energy operation;
geothermal access authority means a geothermal
access authority under Part III;
geothermal drilling reservation means a geothermal
drilling reservation referred to in section 43D(2);
geothermal energy means thermal energy that
results from natural geological processes and is contained in geothermal
energy resources;
geothermal energy operation means —
(a) an
operation to explore for geothermal energy resources, and the carrying on of
such operations and the execution of such works as are necessary for that
purpose;
(b) an
operation to drill for geothermal energy resources, and the carrying on of
such operations and the execution of such works as are necessary for that
purpose;
(c) an
operation to recover geothermal energy, and the carrying on of such operations
and the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;
(d) any
other kind of operation that is prescribed by the regulations to be a
geothermal energy operation for the purposes of this definition,
but does not include an operation of a kind that
is prescribed by the regulations not to be a geothermal energy operation for
the purposes of this definition;
geothermal energy resources means subsurface rock
or other subterranean substances that contain geothermal energy and, where the
context so requires, includes the geothermal energy contained in those
resources;
geothermal exploration permit means a permit
issued under section 38(2);
geothermal lease area means the area constituted
by the blocks that are the subject of a geothermal retention lease;
geothermal lessee means the registered holder of a
geothermal retention lease;
geothermal licensee means the registered holder of
a geothermal production licence;
geothermal permit area means the area constituted
by the blocks that are the subject of a geothermal exploration permit;
geothermal permittee means the registered holder
of a geothermal exploration permit;
geothermal production licence means a geothermal
production licence under Part III;
geothermal resources area means a discrete area
that contains geothermal energy resources;
geothermal retention lease means a geothermal
retention lease under Part III;
geothermal special prospecting authority means a
geothermal special prospecting authority under Part III;
good oil-field practice means all those things
that are generally accepted as good and safe in the carrying on of exploration
for petroleum, or in the operations for the recovery of petroleum, as the case
may be;
graticular section means a section referred to in
section 27;
holder of a drilling reservation means the
registered holder of a drilling reservation;
inspector means a person appointed under
section 118;
lease means —
(a) a
petroleum retention lease; or
(b) a
geothermal retention lease;
lease area means the area constituted by the
blocks that are the subject of a lease;
lessee means the registered holder of a lease;
licence means —
(a) a
petroleum production licence; or
(b) a
geothermal production licence;
licence area means the area constituted by the
blocks that are the subject of a licence;
licensee means the registered holder of a licence;
listed OSH law means —
(a) section 117A;
or
(b)
Schedule 1; or
(c) a
regulation made for the purposes of Schedule 1; or
(d) a
regulation made for the purposes of section 149B; or
(e) any
other written law relating to occupational safety and health matters that is
prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph;
location means a block or blocks in respect of
which a declaration under section 47 is in force;
oil shale includes naturally occurring
hydrocarbons that are or may be contained in rocks from which they cannot be
recovered otherwise than by mining those rocks as oil shale;
operator —
(a) in
relation to an operation to explore for petroleum or geothermal energy
resources or the carrying on of such operations or the execution of such works
as are necessary for that purpose, in a permit area, means the registered
holder of the permit for that area;
(b) in
relation to an operation to drill for petroleum or geothermal energy resources
or the carrying on of such operations or the execution of such works as are
necessary for that purpose, in a drilling reservation area, means the
registered holder of the drilling reservation for that area;
(c) in
relation to an operation to explore for petroleum or geothermal energy
resources or the carrying on of such operations or the execution of such works
as are necessary for that purpose, in a lease area, means the registered
holder of the lease for that area;
(d) in
relation to —
(i)
an operation to recover petroleum or geothermal energy in
a licence area or to recover petroleum or geothermal energy from a licence
area in another area; or
(ii)
an operation to explore for petroleum or geothermal
energy resources in a licence area; or
(iii)
the carrying on of such operations or the execution of
such works in a licence area as are necessary for those purposes,
means the registered
holder of the licence for that area;
(e) in
relation to an operation for the mining, obtaining or production of petroleum
under the Barrow Island lease as renewed, substituted or varied, means the
lessee as defined in section 128;
(f) in
relation to a petroleum exploration operation or geothermal energy resources
exploration operation specified in a special prospecting authority, means the
registered holder of the special prospecting authority;
(g) in
relation to a petroleum exploration operation or geothermal energy resources
exploration operation or an operation related to the recovery of petroleum or
geothermal energy in or from an area specified in an access authority, means
the registered holder of the access authority;
(h) in
relation to the injection of petroleum into a natural underground reservoir,
means a person (other than the Minister) who is a party to an agreement under
section 67(1), or who has the Minister’s approval under
section 67(2), in respect of that injection;
(i)
in relation to the injection of carbon dioxide, as
defined in section 3 of the Barrow Island Act 2003 , into an
underground reservoir or other subsurface formation, means a person who has
the BI Act Minister’s approval under section 13 of that Act, in
respect of that injection;
(j) in
relation to any other kind of operation that is prescribed by the regulations
to be a petroleum operation for the purposes of the definition of petroleum
operation , means the person prescribed by the regulations to be the operator
of such a petroleum operation for the purposes of this definition;
(k) in
relation to any other kind of operation that is prescribed by the regulations
to be a geothermal energy operation for the purposes of the definition of
geothermal energy operation , means the person prescribed by the regulations
to be the operator of such a geothermal energy operation for the purposes of
this definition;
other protected person , in relation to a
geothermal energy operation, means a person who is at or near a place where
the geothermal energy operation is being carried on at the invitation of, or
with the express or implied consent of —
(a) the
operator of the geothermal energy operation; or
(b) a
person in control of a part of the geothermal energy operation;
other protected person , in relation to a
petroleum operation, means a person who is at or near a place where the
petroleum operation is being carried on at the invitation of, or with the
express or implied consent of —
(a) the
operator of the petroleum operation; or
(b) a
person in control of a part of the petroleum operation;
partly cancelled means — in
relation to a permit, drilling reservation or
licence — cancelled as to one or more but not all of the
blocks the subject of the permit, drilling reservation or licence;
partly determined , in relation to a permit,
drilling reservation or lease, means determined as to one or more but not all
of the blocks the subject of the permit, drilling reservation or lease;
permit means —
(a) a
petroleum exploration permit; or
(b) a
geothermal exploration permit;
permit area means —
(a) a
petroleum permit area; or
(b) a
geothermal permit area;
permittee means the registered holder of a permit;
petroleum means —
(a) any
naturally occurring hydrocarbon, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state;
or
(b) any
naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous, liquid or
solid state; or
(c) any
naturally occurring mixture of one or more hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous,
liquid or solid state, and one or more of the following, that is to say,
hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen, helium and carbon dioxide,
and includes any petroleum as defined by
paragraph (a), (b) or (c) that has been returned to a natural reservoir,
but excludes oil shale;
petroleum access authority means a petroleum
access authority under Part III;
petroleum drilling reservation means a petroleum
drilling reservation referred to in section 43D(1);
petroleum exploration permit means a permit issued
under section 38(1);
petroleum lease area means the area constituted by
the blocks that are the subject of a petroleum retention lease;
petroleum lessee means the registered holder of a
petroleum retention lease;
petroleum licensee means the registered holder of
a petroleum production licence;
petroleum operation means —
(a) an
operation to explore for petroleum, and the carrying on of such operations and
the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;
(b) an
operation to drill for petroleum, and the carrying on of such operations and
the execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;
(c) an
operation to recover petroleum, and the carrying on of such operations and the
execution of such works as are necessary for that purpose;
(d) an
operation for the mining, obtaining or production of petroleum under the
Barrow Island lease as renewed, substituted or varied;
(e) the
injection of petroleum into a natural underground reservoir;
(f) the
injection of carbon dioxide, as defined in section 3 of the Barrow Island
Act 2003 , into an underground reservoir or other subsurface formation;
(g) any
other kind of operation that is prescribed by the regulations to be a
petroleum operation for the purposes of this definition,
but does not include an operation of a kind that
is prescribed by the regulations not to be a petroleum operation for the
purposes of this definition;
petroleum permit area means the area constituted
by the blocks that are the subject of a petroleum exploration permit;
petroleum permittee means the registered holder of
a petroleum exploration permit;
petroleum pool means a naturally occurring
discrete accumulation of petroleum;
petroleum production licence means a petroleum
production licence under Part III;
petroleum retention lease means a petroleum
retention lease under Part III;
petroleum special prospecting authority means a
petroleum special prospecting authority under Part III;
primary entitlement means —
(a) in
relation to a permittee, the number of blocks —
(i)
forming part of a location in the permit area in respect
of which that permittee may make an application under section 50(1); or
(ii)
forming a location in the permit area in respect of which
that permittee may make an application under section 50(1a);
and
(b) in
relation to a lessee, the number of blocks in the lease area in respect of
which that lessee may make an application under section 50A(1) or (1a);
private land means any land which has been or may
hereafter be alienated from the Crown for any estate of freehold, or is or may
hereafter be the subject of any conditional purchase agreement, or of any
lease or concession with or without the right of acquiring the fee simple
thereof, other than —
(a) a
pastoral lease within the meaning of the Land Administration Act 1997 ,
or a lease otherwise granted for grazing purposes only; or
(b) a
lease for timber purposes; or
(c) a
lease for the use and benefit of the Aboriginal inhabitants;
recovery , of geothermal energy, includes the
recovery of any geothermal energy resources necessary to recover geothermal
energy;
Register means the Register kept by the Minister
in pursuance of Division 4 of Part III;
registered holder , in relation to a permit,
drilling reservation, lease, licence, special prospecting authority or access
authority, means the person whose name is for the time being shown in the
Register as being the holder of the permit, drilling reservation, lease,
licence, special prospecting authority or access authority;
regulations means regulations made under
section 153;
relinquished area means —
(a) in
relation to a permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence that has
expired — the area constituted by the blocks in respect of
which the permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence was in force but has
not been renewed; and
(b) in
relation to a permit, drilling reservation, or lease that has been wholly
determined or partly determined — the area constituted by the
blocks as to which the permit, drilling reservation or lease was so
determined; and
(c) in
relation to a permit, drilling reservation or licence that has been wholly
cancelled or partly cancelled —the area constituted by the blocks
as to which the permit, drilling reservation or licence was so cancelled; and
(ca) in
relation to a lease that has been wholly cancelled — the area
constituted by the blocks in respect of which the lease was in force; and
(d) in
relation to a special prospecting authority or access authority that has been
surrendered or cancelled or has expired — the area constituted
by the blocks in respect of which that authority was in force;
royalty period , in relation to a permit, drilling
reservation or licence, means —
(a) the
period from and including the date from which the permit, drilling reservation
or licence has effect to the end of the month of the year during which that
date occurs; and
(b) each
month thereafter;
royalty value has the meaning applicable under
section 144A(1) or (2);
special prospecting authority means —
(a) a
petroleum special prospecting authority; or
(b) a
geothermal special prospecting authority;
structure means any fixed, moveable or floating
structure or installation and includes a pipeline, pumping station, tank
station and valve station;
vessel means a vessel used in navigation, other
than air navigation, and includes a barge or other vessel;
well means a hole in the Earth’s crust made
by drilling, boring or any other means in connection with exploration for
petroleum or geothermal energy resources or operations for the recovery of
petroleum or geothermal energy, but does not include a seismic shot hole;
wholly cancelled , in relation to a permit,
drilling reservation, lease or licence, means cancelled as to all the blocks
the subject of the permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence;
wholly determined , in relation to a permit,
drilling reservation or lease, means determined as to all the blocks the
subject of the permit, drilling reservation or lease.
(2) In this Act, a
reference to the term of a permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence,
special prospecting authority or access authority is a reference to the period
during which the permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence, special
prospecting authority or access authority remains in force and a reference to
the date of expiration of a permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence,
special prospecting authority or access authority is a reference to the day on
which the permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence, special prospecting
authority or access authority ceases to be in force.
(3) In this Act, a
reference to a year of the term of a permit, drilling reservation, lease or
licence is a reference to a period of one year commencing on the day on which
the permit, drilling reservation, lease or licence, as the case may be, comes
into force or on any anniversary of that day.
(4) In this Act, a
reference to the renewal, or to the grant of a renewal, of a permit is a
reference to the grant of a permit in respect of all or some of the blocks
specified in the first-mentioned permit to commence on the day after the date
of expiration of the first-mentioned permit or on the day after the date of
expiration of the permit granted upon a previous renewal of the
first-mentioned permit.
(4a) In this Act, a
reference to the renewal, or to the grant of a renewal, of a lease is a
reference to the grant of a lease in respect of the blocks in respect of which
the first-mentioned lease was in force to commence on the day after the date
of expiration of the first-mentioned lease or on the day after the date of
expiration of the lease granted upon a previous renewal of the first-mentioned
lease.
(5) In this Act, a
reference to the renewal, or to the grant of a renewal, of a licence in
respect of the blocks specified in the licence is a reference to the grant of
a licence in respect of those blocks to commence on the day after the date of
expiration of the first-mentioned licence or on the day after the date of
expiration of the licence granted upon a previous renewal of the
first-mentioned licence.
(5a) In this Act a
reference to the extension of a drilling reservation in relation to the blocks
specified in the drilling reservation is a reference to the grant of a
drilling reservation in respect of those blocks to commence on the day after
the date of expiration of the first-mentioned drilling reservation or on the
day after the date of expiration of the previous extension, if any, of the
first-mentioned drilling reservation.
(6) In this Act, a
reference to a permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence or access
authority is a reference to the permit, drilling reservation, lease, licence
or access authority as varied for the time being under this Act.
(7) Notwithstanding
anything in subsection (1), the Minister for the time being charged with
the administration of the Mining Act 1978 may, in the event of a dispute
whether a particular substance is or is not oil shale, decide whether that
substance is or is not oil shale for the purposes of this Act and the
Mining Act 1978 and his decision in the matter shall be final.
(8) The power
conferred by this Act to make, grant or issue any instrument shall, unless the
contrary intention appears, be construed as including a power exercisable in
the like manner and subject to the like conditions, if any, to repeal,
rescind, revoke, amend or vary any such instrument.
[Section 5 amended by No. 69 of 1981
s. 31; No. 12 of 1990 s. 5; No. 78 of 1990 s. 4;
No. 11 of 1994 s. 4; No. 28 of 1994 s. 5; No. 31 of
1997 s. 141; No. 17 of 1999 s. 21; No. 13 of 2005 s. 4;
No. 35 of 2007 s. 6 and 85; No. 42 of 2010 s. 4.]