Notice of Invitation for Work-Bid Petroleum Exploration Permit Applications (Re-Release Round) - V15-3 and AC15-2

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006

NOTICE OF INVITATION FOR WORK-BID PETROLEUM EXPLORATION PERMIT APPLICATIONS

(RE-RELEASE ROUND)

I, GRAEME ALBERT WATERS, the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (the NOPTA), on behalf of the Commonwealth-Victoria Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority and the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority (the Joint Authorities), pursuant to section 104 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (the Act), hereby invite applications for the grant of work-bid petroleum exploration permits in respect of the blocks and within the areas described below.

Applications must be received, in the manner prescribed below, by 4:00pm local time at the place of submission on Thursday 21 April 2016.

Graticular Block ListingS

Release Area V15-3

South-eastern Gippsland Basin, Victoria

Map Sheet SJ 55 (Melbourne)

Assessed to contain 83 blocks (72 full blocks and 11 part blocks)

Release Area AC15-2

Vulcan sub-basin, Bonaparte Basin, Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Map Sheet SC51 (Kupang)

Map Sheet SD 51 (Brunswick Bay)

Assessed to contain 8 blocks (4 full blocks and 4 part blocks)

APPLICATIONS

In accordance with subsection 104(3) of the Act, applications must be accompanied by details of:

1. the applicant’s proposals for work and expenditure in relation to the block or blocks specified in the application;
2. the technical qualifications of the applicant and of the applicant’s employees;
3. the technical advice available to the applicant; and
4. the financial resources available to the applicant.

For further details of the expectations of the Joint Authorities in relation to the content of applications, please refer to the Offshore Petroleum Exploration Guideline: Work-bid, available at http://www.nopta.gov.au/legislation/guidelines.html.

FEE

An application must be accompanied by a fee paid by way of an Australian bank cheque or electronic funds transfer. The amount of the fee is prescribed in Regulations under the Act, and at the time of printing was $A8,183.00 which is GST free.[1]

If paying by cheque, please write the full company name and Australian Business Number of each applicant and work-bid release area number on the back of the bank cheque. Cheques should be made payable to ‘NOPTA – Commonwealth of Australia’.

If paying by electronic funds transfer, please make payment to the following account:

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

The application must be on the prescribed application form and signed by all applicants. The application form is available at http://www.nopta.gov.au/forms/forms.html.

One bound paper copy and one electronic copy in text search format (on CD or USB) of the application, together with evidence of payment of the application fee, must be submitted to the NOPTA in the following manner:

•     the application should be sealed and clearly marked as “Application for Area [Re-Release Area Number as appropriate] Commercial-in-Confidence” and
•     this envelope or package should then be enclosed in a plain covering envelope or package and delivered by hand (couriers accepted) to the below address:

To submit an application please make an appointment with the NOPTA by emailing titles@nopta.gov.au or phoning + 61 8 6424 5317.

Please check the NOPTA website prior to submitting an application for further updates on submissions.

[1] Please note that application fees are subject to change. Applicants should refer to the application fee stated in Schedule 6, Part 1 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2011 or confirm with NOPTA prior to submitting an application - http://www.nopta.gov.au/cost.html.