The amendments introduced in the Geothermal Energy Act 2010 (Qld) to the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld) and the Petroleum Act 1923 (Qld) were this morning proclaimed to take effect. This means that all exploration and production petroleum tenements in Queensland are, as of today, subject to the new Land Access Code, land access regime and compensation regime.

The new Land Access Code, land access regime and compensation regime also apply to geothermal tenure holders and greenhouse gas (GHG) storage tenure holders as of today.

What you must do now

It is imperative that you conduct immediate reviews of your current documents to ensure compliance with the new regime (including the newly introduced Land Access Code). This will include reviewing entry notices, waiver of entry notices, compensation agreements and deferral agreements. As of today, all of these documents for petroleum, geothermal and GHG storage tenures must comply with the new regime.

In addition, we recommend that you familiarise yourself with the Land Access Code, as certain parts of this Code are now mandatory conditions of your petroleum, geothermal and GHG storage tenements.

Land Access Code

The Land Access Code is now a mandatory code for all petroleum, geothermal and GHG storage tenures, and certain provisions of this Code are now mandatory conditions of those tenures. To the extent that any condition of your tenement is inconsistent with a mandatory condition of the Land Access Code, the Land Access Code will prevail.

Transitional provisions: petroleum and GHG storage tenements

Any compensation agreement in force before today that was entered into in accordance with the terms of the old regime is now a 'conduct and compensation agreement' under the new regime. Please note that this does not apply to compensation agreements for notifiable road uses.

Similarly, entry notices that have been served on land owners before today under the old regime will continue to be valid according to their terms, regardless of whether the entry notices comply with the new regime.

There are no transitional provisions for existing deferral agreements. Any existing deferral agreements will need to be updated to comply with the new regime.

Existing waiver of entry notices, if in compliance with the old regime, will continue in force under the new regime for the duration of the waiver period.

Still to come

The amendments to the Mineral Resources Act 1989 (Qld) have not yet taken effect, although they will most likely be proclaimed to take effect shortly. Note that the provisions allowing for geothermal leases are also yet to commence.

For a detailed overview of the amendments and your obligations under the new regime, please read our article on the Geothermal Energy Bill 2010.

For more information about the new regime, please contact HopgoodGanim's Energy and Resources team.

Martin Klapper, Partner
Tel 07 3024 0325
m.klapper@hopgoodganim.com.au

Jonathan Fulcher, Partner
Tel 07 3024 0414
j.fulcher@hopgoodganim.com.au

Claudia Bozonji, Associate
Tel 07 3024 0413
c.bozonji@hopgoodganim.com.au