Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991 (NSW)

Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991 No 84

An Act to regulate the search for and mining of petroleum; to repeal the Petroleum Act 1955; and for other purposes.

Part 1 Preliminary

1 Name of Act This Act may be cited as the Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991.

2 Commencement This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

2A Objects The objects of this Act are to encourage and facilitate the discovery and development of petroleum resources in New South Wales, having regard to the need to encourage ecologically sustainable development, and in particular— (a) to recognise and foster the significant social and economic benefits to New South Wales that result from the efficient development of petroleum resources, and (b) to provide an integrated framework for the effective regulation of titles for petroleum prospecting and mining, and (c) to provide a framework for compensation to landholders for loss or damage resulting from such operations, and (d) to ensure an appropriate return to the State from petroleum resources, and (e) to require the payment of security to provide for the rehabilitation of sites damaged or affected by such operations, and (f) to ensure effective rehabilitation of disturbed land and water, and (g) to ensure petroleum resources are identified and developed in ways that minimise impacts on the environment.

3 Definitions (1) In this Act— access arrangement means an access arrangement under Part 4A or 4B. activity approval—see sections 31A and 36A. administrative levy means an administrative levy payable under Part 7A. annual rental fee means an annual rental fee payable under Part 7A. assessable prospecting operation means any prospecting operation that is not exempt development within the meaning of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. block means a graticular section referred to in section 4. Chief Commissioner means the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue. Commonwealth Native Title Act means the Native Title Act 1993 of the Commonwealth. Department means the Department of Planning and Environment. director of a body corporate or corporation includes any person involved in the management of the affairs of the body corporate or corporation. drilling means the perforation of the earth's surface crust by mechanical means, whether the hole caused by the perforation is vertical, inclined or horizontal, and includes all operations for preventing collapse of the sides of any such hole or for preventing it from being filled with extraneous materials including water. enforceable undertaking means an undertaking given under Division 6 of Part 13A. environment includes all aspects of the surroundings of humans, whether affecting any human as an individual or in his or her social grouping. environment protection legislation has the same meaning as in the Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991. function includes a power, authority or duty, and exercise a function includes perform a duty. geological survey includes the examination of areas in the field, the collection of the necessary specimens of rocks and other materials, investigations in the laboratory, the preparation of geological maps and geological sections, and all other operations essential for the determination of the geological nature, formation and structure of any such area. geophysical survey means the examination of an area with the aid of instruments with the object of determining some or all of the physical constituents of geological formations on or below the surface of the earth in such area. inspector means an inspector within the meaning of the Mining Act 1992. land includes land covered by water. landholder means, in relation to any land— (a) the owner of an estate in fee simple in the land, or (b) a native title holder of the land, or (c) the holder of a lease or licence under the Crown Land Management Act 2016 over the land, or (d) the holder of a continued incomplete tenure purchase under Schedule 1 to the Crown Land Management Act 2016 in the land, or (e) the holder of a permissive occupancy granted over the land, or (f) (Repealed) (g) a person identified in any register or record kept by the Registrar-General as a person having an interest in the land, being— (i) a mortgagee in possession of the land, or (ii) a lessee of the land or other person entitled to an exclusive right of occupation of the land, or (iii) a Minister or public authority having the benefit of a covenant affecting the land that is imposed by a Minister on behalf of the Crown under the Crown Land Management Act 2016, or (iv) a Minister or public authority having an interest in the land under a conservation, natural heritage or biobanking agreement, or (v) a person prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph, or (g1) a person identified in any register or record kept by the Registrar-General as a person having an interest in the land, other than a person to whom paragraph (g) applies, but only in a provision of this Act in which a reference to a landholder is expressed to include a secondary landholder, or (h) a person of a class prescribed by or determined in accordance with the regulations to be landholders for the purposes of this definition, but does not include a person of a class prescribed as outside the scope of this definition. onshore area means any area of land in New South Wales that is not included in the territorial sea within the meaning of the Petroleum (Offshore) Act 1982. 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, carbon dioxide and water, and includes any substance referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) that has been returned to a natural reservoir, but does not include coal or oil shale or any substance prescribed to be a mineral for the purposes of the Mining Act 1992. petroleum deposit means any naturally occurring accumulation of petroleum on or below the surface of the earth. petroleum title means an exploration licence, assessment lease, production lease or special prospecting authority in force under this Act. prospect means to carry out works on, or to remove samples from, land for the purpose of testing the quality and quantity of petroleum in the land and the potential to recover petroleum from the land, but does not include any activity declared by the regulations not to constitute prospecting. prospecting operations means operations carried out in the course of prospecting. public authority means a public authority constituted by or under an Act, and includes— (a) a Government Department, and (b) a statutory body representing the Crown, a State owned corporation within the meaning of the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 and a subsidiary (within the meaning of that Act), and (c) a council, and (d) a member of staff or other person who exercises functions on behalf of a public authority. related body corporate has the same meaning as in the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth. resources legislation means this Act, the Mining Act 1992 and the regulations and other instruments made under those Acts. secondary landholder—see paragraph (g1) of the definition of landholder. Secretary means the Secretary of the Department. well means a hole made by drilling in connection with exploration for petroleum or operations for the recovery of petroleum, but does not include a seismic shot hole. well-head, of petroleum, has the meaning specified by the regulations. work program means a work program referred to in section 14.