Petroleum Act Amendment Act of 1927 (18 Geo v No. 13) (Qld)

12004 MINING. Petroleum Act Amendment Act. 18 GEO. V. No. 13, J8 N G o. eo 1 . 3. V. An Act to Amend "The PetroleumAct of 1923" THE in certain particulars. PETROLEUMACT AMEND. MENT ACT [ASSENTED TO 17TH DECEMBER, 1927.J B OF 1927. E it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legis- lative Assembly of Queensland in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:- Short title 1. This Act may be cited as "The PetroleumAct and. t' Amendment Act of 1927," and shall be read as one with cons·ruc Ion. *" The Petroleum Act of 1923," herein referred to as the Principal Act. The Principal Act and this Act may be collectively cited as "The Petroleum Acts, 1923 to 1927." Amendments 2. The following amendments are made in the o P f ritnhceipal p rinC . lpa 1 A ct, name I y:- Act. Section 2. (i.) In section two, after the words- "PART I.- PRELI~ IINARY;" the words- " PART IA.-PETROLEUM ADVISORY BOARD;" are inserted. Section 3. Barrel. (ii.) In section three, after the word "indicates" the words" or requires" are inserted. Before the definition of "Crown land" in the said section the following definition is inserted :- " "Barrel "-The term, when used quantitatively in relation to petroleum, shall mean a barrel containing thirty-five imperial gallons." Petroleum Advisory Board, or Board. Before the definition of "Petroleum deposits" in the said section, the following definition is inserted:- "" Petroleum Advisory Board" or "Board "--The Petroleum Advisory Board as and when constituted under this Act." (iii.) After Part I. of this Act the following Part is inserted, viz. :- Appoint. ment of Petroleum Advisory Board. "PART IA.-PETROLEUM ADVISORY BOARD•. [4A.] For the purpose of making any inquiry or investigation which may be deemed necessary, or for such other purposes as the Governor in Council may • 14 Geo. V. NG. 26, supra, page 10715.

MINING. 12005 1927. PetroleumAct Amendrnent Act. think fit, it shall be lawful for the Governor in Council from time to time to appoint a Board, to be called the " Petroleum Advisory Board," consisting of such persons as he may approve. In the event of such Board being constituted, regulations may be made prescribing the tenure of office of the members of such Board, the duties and responsibilities thereof, the regulation of meetings, proceedings and the conduct of business of such Board, the appointment of a secretary or other officers, if necessary, and generally such other matters or things which may be considered necessary or expedient so to prescribe. For the purpose of any such inquiry or investigation the Board, if and when so constituted, and each and every member thereof, shall have the same powers, authorities, and protection as a commission under *" The Official Inquiries Evidence Act of 1910." The Governor. in Council may also' dissolve any Board so appointed, and such Board shall cease and determjne accordingly." (iv.) In the second paragraph of subsection three of Section 14. section fom-teen, after .the word "disposition" the words "or by reason of any apparently unfavourable geological structures or conditions)' are inserted. The first paragraph of subsection six of the said section is repealed and the following paragraph is inserted in lieu thereof :- " (6.) Before a permit is granted by the Minister the applicant shall either furnish a bond in the form prescribed with a corporate surety or such other surety in cash or otherwise as the Minister may accept, in a sum of not less than five hundred pounds, containing the prescribed conditions, or otherwise satisfy the Minister as to his ability to comply with such prescribed conditions." In subsection six of the sa:d section, insert the words " cash or" before the word " bond" in the second paragraph, and the words "cash or" before the words " bonds or a bond" in the third paragraph. (v.) In the second paragraph of section sixteen, Section 16. after the word "geological" the words "or other" are inserted. *' 1 Geo. V. No. 26, supra, page 748.

12006 MINING. Petrole'um Act Amendment Act 18 GEO. V. No. 13. In the fourth paragraph of the said section, the words" and in the latter case upon the furnishing of the prescribed bond" are repealed. Section 21. (vi.) The first paragraph of section twenty-one is repealed and the following new first paragraph is inserted in lieu thereof :- Royalty "Until the permittee applies for a lease as herein.;. gbreafonrteedl. ease after provided, he shall pay to the Minister a royalty calculated at such rates and on such bases as are set forth in section thirty-two of this Act, together with an additional royalty payment amounting to two and a-half per centum increase in all such rates of payment of royalty as therein set forth in the said section thirty-two, which total royalty payment shall also be paid at such times and in such manner as set forth in the section last referred to." Section 22. (vii.) The following provisos are added to sectiop twenty-two, that is to say :- "Provided that the Minister, in cases of unforeseen and unavoidable delay or in any other case in which the circumstances of the particular case seem to the Minister just and equitable, may, in his absolute discretion, grant such -extended time not exceeding in respect of such extension a period of six months to a permittee making an application for such an extension of time beyond such time as is prescribed by this section: Duty 0: permittee. Prov-ided further that nothing in the preceding provision shall confer upon any permittee a right to claim any such extension of time, but the Minister shall have an absolute and unfettered discretion to approve or refuse any such application for such extension of time, and his decision shall be final and conclusive and without appeal." (viii.) After section twenty-two of the Principal Act the following new section is inserted:- "[22A.] 'Within six months after the date of the issue to a permittee of a permit, such permittee shall furnish to the Minister satisfactory proof that such permittee has ordered sufficient plant or that such plant is in the course of construction whereby such permittee may drill such well or wells and to such depth as required and prescribed pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-two of this Act."

1927. MINING. PetroleumAGt Arn"endment Act. 12007 (ix.) After the third paragraph of section twenty· Section 28. eight the following proviso is inserted;- "Provided that lands which are not contiguous may be included in one lease, where conditions are such that because of any prior disposition or by reason of any apparently unfavourable geological structures or conditions a reasonable area of contiguous land is not available." (x.) In section thirty, after the word "pounds" Section 30. the following words are added ;--" or such other security in cash or otherwise for the said sum as the Minister may consider adequate." (xi.) Section thirty-two is repealed and the following Section 32. new section is inserted in lieu thereof;- "[32.J (a) The lessee shall pay in advance, beginning Royalty and with the date of the execution of the lease, a rental at rent. the rate of two shillings per acre per annum for and in respect of the. land demised, and such payment shall continue to be made annually during the currency of the term. (b) The lessee shall, in addition to such rental and subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, pay a royalty upon the gross value of the petroleum produced from the land demised (except petroleum used for production purposes on the said land or unavoidably lost). (c) Such royalty payable shall be a snm equal to- (i.) Twelve and a-half per centum of the gross value of petroleum produced from petroleum deposits at a depth of two thousand feet or less; (ii.) Ten per centum of the gross value of petroleum produced from petroleum deposits at a depth of two thousand feet and less than four thousand feet; (iii.) Seven and· a-half per centum of the gross value of petroleum produced from petroleum deposits at depth of four thousand feet and over; Provided that in the ca.se of petroleum produced by absorption or other process from natural gas, the royalty payable under subparagraphs (i.), (ii.), and (iii.) as above

MINING. Petroleum Apt Amendment Act. 18 GEO. V. No. 13, shall respectively be ten Fer centum, seven and a-half per centum, and five per centum of such gross value of petroleum so produced. (d) It is further declared that when the average daily production of petroleum from all producing wells upon any lease- (i.) Does not exceed an average of two "barrels for each producing well, no royalty shall be payable by the lessee; (ii.) Exceeds an average of two barrels for ea,ch producing well, but does not exceed an average of ten barrels for each producing well, one-third of the royalty calculated as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section shall be payable by the lessee; (iii.) Exceeds an average of ten barrels for each prodw:dng well, but does not exceed an average of twenty barrels for each producing well, two-thirds of the royalty, calculated as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section, shall be payable by the lessee; (iv.) Exceeds an average of twenty barrels for each producing well, the full royalty, cal- culated as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section, shall be payable by the lessee. (e) Such royalties shall be subject to reduction to be fixed by regulations under this Act. (f) The royalty shall be payable monthly on the tenth day of each month following the month in which the petroleum is produced. (g) All rents and royalties shall be paid to the warden of the nearest mining district, unless the Minister otherwise directs." Section 34. (xii.) In section thirty-four, after the words "three months" the words" or such extended time not exceeding a total extension of three months, as the Minister in his absolute discretion may allow" are inserted. Section 46. (xiii.) In section forty-six, after the word" bond" the words" or other approved security" are inserted.

MINING. 120':;:) 1927. Petroleum Act Amendment Act. (xiv.) Section forty-eight is repealed and the Section 48. following new section is inserted in lieu thereof;- "[48.] A permittee or lessee shall not commence Restrict!ons drilling within two hundred feet of any of the ?uter O; ~ 1~ fl~ : ~ on boundaries of the land covered by the permit or or the land demised, as the case may be, unless the adjoining land is not the subject of any permit or lease under this Act: Provided always that this restriction shall not apply to any bore which is being drilled at the time such permit or lease of the adjoining land is granted in respect of such adjoining land." (xv.) Section fifty is repealed and the following Section GO new section is inserted in lieu thereof:- "[50.J Every permittee and every lessee, unless in Casing well. any case wholly or partially excused from so doing by the Minister, shall properly case each well with metal casing in accordance with the best approved methods, landing and effectually cementing one or more strings of the casing in clay or other water-impervious strata or formation between all water-bearing sands or strata and any underlying petroleum deposit, and generally shall take all such steps as may be reasonably necessary for effectually shutting off all water overlying and underlying the petroleum depos~ ts, and for effectually preventing any water from penetrating such petroleum deposits." (xvi.) In the second paragraph of section fifty-three, Section 53. after the word "Minister" the words "or 8Juthorised officer or representative" are inserted. (xvii.) In section fifty-four, after the words" permits Section 54. and leases" the words "including power to make regulations regarding any matters or things concerned with respect to the conveyance of petroleum by pipe lines, as set forth in paragraph (b) of section forty-four of this Act." (xviii.) In section fifty-five, the words "with all Section 55. plant" are repealed. (xix.) In section fifty-six,the words "for coal, or" Section 56. are repealed; also, the words "coal shale" are repealed and the word "shale" is inserted in lieu thereof.

12010 MINING.- Petroleum Act Amendment Act. 18 GEO. V. No. 13~ Union of leases. 3. The following new sections are inserted after section sixty-one of the Principal Act, namely:- "[61A.] Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Minister may a·pprove of the union of two leases, whether the areas embraced in such leases are contiguous or are not contiguous, subject to the' following conditions, namely:- (i.) An application for such union shall be made to the :Minister by means of a resolution passed by a majority in number and value (calculated in each case as prescribed) of the persons registered for the time being as holders of the leases concerned; (ii.) Subject to this section or as may be prescribed, all the provisions of this Act governing leases and matters and things concerning same shall apply and extend to, any such union of leases, as the case may be. Agreement to drill wells. Regulations may be made to give full effect to the objects and provisions of this section. [61B.] The Minister in his discretion may sanction any agreement made between the holder or holders of permits or leases of land, situated in the same district,. having for its object the making of provision for the drilling of a well or wells by the said permittee or- permittees or lessee or lessees on such land as may be agreed upon and specified in such agreement. No such agreement shall have any force or effect unless it shall have been submitted to and approved of by the Minister:: Provided further that where, pursuant to any such agreement as aforesaid, any permittee or lessee shall have so agreed with any other permittee or lessee whereby any well or wells are drilled upon land covered by the permit or lease of a permittee or lessee who is also a party to such agreement, the drilling of such well or wells shall be taken to be performance or part per- formance, as the case may be, in respect of the obligations imposed pursuant to the provisions of sections twenty- two and thirty-four of this Act upon such permittee or lessee on whose land such drilling operations are not; actually carried on, but who is a party to such agreement.

MINING. 12011 1927. PetroleumAct Am,endment Act. Regulations may be made, including the prescribing of the form of agreement hereunder, to give full effect to the purposes of this section. [610.] (1.) Notwithstanding anything in this Act to Minister ~ he c~ntrary contained, it sh~~l.be lawful for the Minister, : !~ $ c~ ~ g If satIsfied that greater faCIhtIes are necessary for the permit. exploration, prospecting, or for geological investigation, or for the testing of favourable geological structures, or generally in respect of the search for and discovery of petroleum or gas, or for the due development of the industry generally, to grant ·to any person a permit, hereinafter called a "special permit," of an area not exceeding ten miles square, or of an area not exceeding an area equivalent to an area of ten miles square. (2. ) Unless otherwise directed by the Minister or as Application may be prescribed, the provisions of Part Ill. and therefor. Part IV. of this Act in regard to a permit under this Act shall, mutatis m'lttandis, apply in respect of a spe:::ial permit under this section: Provided always that any area applied for in respect of any such special permit shall not include within its area any area comprised within an existing permit or lease under this Act. (3.) The following further conditions shall apply in ConditioIls. respect of any special permit granted by the Minister : - (i.) The grantee of such special permit shall, within three months from the granting thereof, pro~eed to have made a geological examination of the area comprised in such permit, with a view of the determination of geological structure favourable to boring; (ii.) The grantee of such special permit shall undertake (and for that purpose enter into any bond or other approved security, if directed by the Minister) to carry out scout driHing when directed by the Minister. The term "scout drilling" in this subsection shall mean diamond or such other method of drilling of shallow holes as will produce a reasonably continuous core to determine favourable geological structure for deep boring.

12012 MINING. Petroleum Act Amendment Act. ISGEo. V.No.13, 1927. Duration (4.) A special permit under this section shall in no apcoennrdmdI. ittI.. Ons of ct h asee d baetegrt a h netreedoff:or a period greater than two years from Provided that it E,hall be a condition precedent to the granting of a special permit that such grantee shall undertake and agree to furnish to the Minister from time to time, in such form a: may be directed by the Minister or as may be prescr~ bed, full ani complete dataf etting forth the result) of geological or other investigation, or a,ny tests or examinat·on, logs of boring, 0,' any other information or evidence obtained by or given to such grantee, or any further particulars, statistics, or informa- tion as may be require:l by the Minister during the period covered by such special permit. Failure to comply with the above provisions shall render such special permit liable to be cancelled by the Minister in his absolute discretion, and the Minister's decision in cancelling such special permit shall be final and conclusive and without appeal, and on such can- cellation by the Minister such special permit shall lapse and determine accordingly: Provided further that the grantee shall, within such period of two years, have a preferent right to apply for a permit under and subject to section fourteen of this Act in respect of portion of the area embraced within such special permit. If, however, no such application is mac:e for such permit by such grantee within the period specified, the special permit granted under this section shall lapse and determine. Regulations. (5.) Regulations may be made prescribing the forms of application for such permit, the form of such permit, and any terms, conditions, provisions, and stipulations, including any fees payable in regard to such application or grant of same, as may be considered necessary and proper for the clue aclministration and 0 bj ects of this section."